Chooch is the baby. Well, he's not really a baby anymore, but anytime Chooch makes a mess, everyone says, "He's just usdi. Let him help." To Sissy, it feels like Chooch can get away with anything. He helps Elisi paint a mural, Etsi sew moccasins, and Edutsi make grape dumplings. Anyone who has ever let a toddler "help" with something can imagine how this goes, and when he helps Sissy make a clay pot she finally loses patience.
Chooch cries, and Sissy gets in trouble, so then she cries. Once everyone has calmed down, Sissy's parents remind her of the messes she made trying to help when she was Chooch's age and tell her that she is one of Chooch's most important teachers. Together, the siblings make a clay pot, and this time, Sissy helps Chooch.
As an older sister, I could relate to Sissy - both her frustration and her pride in being able to teach her younger brother.
The illustrations in this book are gorgeous, and in her artist's note Rebecca Lee Kunz notes that they are infused with Cherokee iconography and traditional symbols and motifs. I particularly love the rich detail in the endpapers, an oft overlooked treasure for picture book art. In the author's note, Andrea L. Rogers talks about how all the things Chooch helps with are related to Native culture, particularly Cherokee culture, and reminds the reader that Native people exist in contemporary culture today. Both the author and the illustrator are members of the Cherokee Nation.
Throughout the book, words in Cherokee are bolded, with in-page pronunciation guides, and the backmatter includes information on the Cherokee language and a glossary of words used in the story, with text written in the Cherokee syllabary, a transliteration, pronunciation, and English translation, as well as instructions for making your own clay pinch pot.
For even more information on the Cherokee language, check out The Cherokee Syllabary: An Illustrated Key to the Cherokee Language
Chooch Helped is the winner of the 2025 Randolph Caldecott Medal. Read more about all the 2025 ALA Youth Media Award Winners here.