Little Chief

This is Toni Danette's debut book and her talented illustrator, Thomas Barnett, enhances the story and brings it to life.

The book is certainly one that many kids will identify with growing up. Little Chief has to deal with many problems as a little boy....problems that demean him, shake his self-esteem to his very core, and make him feel inferior and very sad.

He wets the bed and has to wear a diaper, thus alienating him from sleepovers with friends. He wears a child leash because he is so energetic and full of curiosity his parents are scared he will get lost or hurt so they opt for the leash to keep their precious little boy safe. Little Chief is pretrified of dogs because one bit him on the hand once, causing him to cry and bury his hands in his pockets whenever a dog is near him. He has a very weak stomach and gets sick while driving in the car, in a boat or on amusement park rides. He is chubby (his parents call him husky to make him feel better) and therefore not chosen by his friends to play in their sport games. He sucks his thumb and stutters causing him to feel ridiculed and shamed by those around him. And to top it all off his big sister is very mean to him and he doesn't understand why she treats him so badly. Thankfully he has loving parents who believe in him and want the best for their beloved little boy.

Well Little Chief does grow up and what kind of a man does he turn out to be you may wonder? Is he healed from all his childhood challenges? Does he end up having a great career and is full of self-confidence and accepting of himself despite what he had been through as a child?

This book is a book of inspiration and hope. It documents all the struggles Little Chief has as a young boy but the message given by the author consoles and inspires the reader because Big Chief turns out to be a handsome leader, a solid, impressive man that takes control of situations and is very capable of being in charge....a complete turnaround from the scared, intimidated youngster he was growing up. Big Chief grows up to become a U.S. Navy Chief.

This true story encourages the reader to face your fears, to conquer your fears and to never, ever give up. Who you were created to be might even surprise yourself! I highly recommend this book.

I think the Chief in this story is an extremely brave and inspirational person, even though I’ve never met him. He has allowed his big sister - who used to be mean to him - tell the story of his early life and some of the things he has had to overcome as he has grown up. Children will find many of these things the sorts of things they do but try not to let anyone else know about - like wetting the bed at night, sucking a thumb, stuttering and not being as slim and fit as other children. The illustrations are great, too! This book will hopefully persuade other children that they to can overcome difficulties because the child in this book has not only overcome all of these things but is now a “U.S. Navy Chief”.

I salute both you and your sister for publishing this and hope it helps other children aspire to achieve their goal and to always hope for the best. This is a book I have no hesitation in recommending and think every class in every school needs books about people like this “U.S. Navy Chief” who are honest about their earlier problems in the hope it will ignite the hope and ambitions of children now to succeed in achieving their dreams.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Little Chief is a true story about a little boy who has many common difficulties as a child. He wets the bed, sucks his thumb and has a mean sister. It makes him sad to have these issues. However, he has hope that one day it will get better. He tries hard and learns to overcome them. Little Chief not only grows up to be a big chief, but a U.S. Navy Chief!

I loved this book. The illustrations were clear and the message was important and simple: growing up is hard!! For some children, it is more difficult than for others. There is, however a light at the end of the tunnel. With hard work and determination, things can get better so don't give up!

One thing that I did not like about this book was that the author describes him as "chubby," but none of the illustrations depicted that. He was shown as thin. Weight issues in children are real and if they are going to be written about, the illustrator should not shy away from them either.

Other than that, I highly recommend this book to all children. For those struggling, it will show them that things can get better and for others, it gives a glimpse into what some children deal with and can encourage understanding and empathy.

this was a cute book. I like how this book shows the struggles of a kid who is picked on and teased. then turns around to show that you can overcome and be a great person.

Awesome story about growing up. Didn't expect real life pictures at the end

This is a sister's tribute to a brother who grew up to be a 'big chief' in the Navy. The contrasts were cute, but for a picture book, it was too wordy. The arkwork also looked rather rough.

Written about the author's brother, this sweet story will encourage children struggling with teasing and rejection from their peers, giving them hope as they overcome personal struggles.

While reading this story, you just feel sorry for Little Chief. He has so many problems: wetting the bed, mean big sisters, stuttering, and about 5 other problems. Each problems ends with "One day...." I basically won't have that problem anymore.

This is where I begin to dislike the story. Instead of going into how he overcame these struggles, as most children do, we just skip to the distant future where he is now a Big Chief in the Navy with no more problems.

I think this was a learning opportunity missed. Little Chief had too many problems. If we could've just focused on maybe 3-4 struggles, and seen his growth and how he overcame obstacles I would've enjoyed the story MUCH better.

Little Chief had too many problems (lots of negativity in the first half of the book). What's the solution? Time to grow up, become an adult and join the navy. If there was a different solution for each problem, the author certainly didn't write about them. I get there are some people who struggle with problems as a child and get teased but telling them the problem will magically disappear as they get older is not always comforting, least of all self empowering, to a child repeatedly experiencing those struggles now. The book message felt like wishful thinking. I was hoping for something more.

It feels as if the middle of this story is missing. Our Little Chief is not so Chief like in the beginning of the story. He is over weight, has no confidence, etc. At the end of the story he is built, doesn't get picked on, and is a Navy chief. However, the center has been skipped. How did this little chief go from typical kid, to Navel Chief?

Even though this is based on a true story, I would have like to see the author develop the first book by just tacking one of the issues, and then it possibly could have been turned into a series. There are just too many issues in this one short story for a child to tackle. As an adult and a librarian who likes to read to kids and to offer books that help kids, I would avoid this book.

Little Chief has some problems - among other things, he wets the bed, stutters, and sometimes the other kids make fun of him. Each time he finds something he does not like, he repeats the phrase, "One day I will not..." Will Little Chief ever find a way to fix his problems and become a Big Chief?

While the theme of the story was positive, I felt like there was an overwhelmingly dark and negative beginning. Each page has something bad about Little Chief's life and after a while it becomes too much. I don't feel like the reveal at the end was the best choice since the first half's content was so stressful and depressing. I think it would have been a much better choice to alternate the stories about what he couldn't do with what he could do or what happened when he got older, to reinforce the changes we go through as we grow older.

I liked the repetition of the phrase "One day I will not [insert behavior here]" because it underscored Little Chief's resilience and strength in the face of adversity.

Interesting and promising debut from a new author. Encouraging story for children with nice illustrations.