Chirchir starts the day eager to help Mama at the well. “But—oh-ohh! The rope slips, water splashes, Chirchir sprawls. 'Little one, this work is not for you,’ says Mama.” Chirchir helps Kogo make a fire. “But—oh-ohh! The fire leaps too high ... 'Littlest granddaughter, this work is not for you.’” Chirchir approaches each new task with a ready song and willing heart, but each time she is sent away after a mishap. Dejected, she returns home to discover baby brother Kip-rop crying. This time, “Chirchir’s soft sweet sound soothes Little Brother.” Kelly Cunnae’s musical narrative is full of pleasing elements, from lyrical language to judicious use of repetition to a consistently childlike perspective. Judy Daly’s folk art illustrations match the grace and flow of the story with their gently curving lines and soft, soothing palette. In an author’s note, Cunnae specifies that Chirchir and her family are members of the Kalenjin tribe and their daily routines are typical of a contemporary Kelanjin family living in the western highlands of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. (Ages 3–7)

Chirchir just wants to make herself useful like all her other family members. But she drops Mama's water bucket, spills Kogo's tea, and sends Baba's potatoes tumbling down the hill. Isn't there something that Chirchir does best? Set in the rolling hills of rural Kenya, this is a wise and lyrical story about belonging from Kelly Cunnane, the author of the Ezra Jack Keats Award winner For You Are a Kenyan Child, accompanied by Jude Daly's beautiful folk art-style illustrations.