All By Myself by Stephanie Shaw

Abstract

Reviewed by: All By Myself by Stephanie Shaw Sarah Sahn Shaw, Stephanie All By Myself; illus. by Emilie Gill. Peachtree, 2023 [32p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781682634875 $18.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 4-8 yrs At the mill, Hen lugs a sack as big as she is, full of flour from the wheat she grew herself. “I’m taking it home to bake bread,” she tells her friends Cow, Horse, and Pig, who all offer to help her out, but she’s stronger than she looks, and she has a particular way of doing things. Her friends back off, but all the while, Fox is laying [End Page 233] in wait for Hen, then showering her with compliments when he meets her on the path back to her house: “Look at you pushing that big load all by yourself!” Perhaps Fox can come with her and learn to bake by watching her? Fox’s sly grin and sharp teeth must mean he’s up to no good, and when Cow, Horse, and Pig find Fox’s tracks back to the henhouse, they burst in to save her—only to find Fox enjoying a delicious bowl of vegetables. “I did have my mouth set for something else,” Fox admits, “But Hen appeased me with the peas!” Hen’s assertion that “I’m not a baby chick anymore! . . . And I REALLY want to do this all by myself!” will undoubtedly ring true to young listeners who are beginning to assert their independence and to caregivers who may have a hard time letting them struggle with new skills. The shift in perspective to Cow, Horse, and Pig when they rush in to rescue Hen cleverly nuances the message on boundaries by offering another angle on some unwanted interventions—as well as a gentle admonition to check one’s assumptions before breaking someone’s door down. Gill’s digital watercolors render the farm in delicate lines and golden barnyard hues, but the overall effect is full of movement and humor, as proud Hen carts her flour sack around, sly Fox slinks after her, and Cow, Horse, and Pig sheepishly clean up the mess they made of Hen’s house. Bring this out for a farm-themed readaloud, and make it available for newly-independent readers to practice their skills with Shaw’s straightforward text. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois