Chooch Helped

Two-year-old Chooch seeks to help everyone, often with disastrous results, in this tender familial picture book from Cherokee creators Rogers and Kunz. The child’s older sibling, Sissy, relates how “Chooch helped” as Elisi paints a mural, Etsi sews pucker-toe moccasins, and Edutsi makes grape dumplings, among other events. Delicately hued, layered mixed-media images that utilize Cherokee iconography, meanwhile, reveal Chooch painting a line across the mural, tearing at the moccasin leather, and pouring flour onto the kitchen floor. When Sissy attempts to make a clay pot, and Chooch’s desire to help wreaks havoc with the project, emotions run high until, in response to Sissy’s tears, “Chooch helped.” A new understanding that Sissy, too, once made similar messes, and that “Chooch learns by watching. You’re one of his most important teachers,” produces a powerful turnaround—one that reveals the way familial roles change over time and across generations. Creators’ notes, pinch-pot instructions, and a Cherokee glossary conclude. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)