Available:*
Library | Material Type | Item Barcode | Shelf Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library | Juvenile Picture Book Hardback | 120791002818310 | J P WED | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
If you like Mo Willems' Pigeon, you'll love Sam Wedelich's Chicken Little!Who are you calling little? "In this clever spin on the classic tale... empathy ends up saving the day, and the moral (don't believe everything you hear; check the facts) is broadcast loud and clear." -- The Horn Book "Whimsy reigns in Wedelich's debut picture book... A spry readaloud that will entertain adults and listeners in equal measure." -- Publishers Weekly Chicken Little is NOT afraid of anything. Well, okay, maybe a mysterious BONK to the head can produce panic. But only momentarily. It's not as though she meant to send the barnyard into a tailspin, thinking that the sky was falling. How ridiculous! But can she calm her feathered friends with facts and reason?A timeless favorite becomes a clever cautionary tale in this FUNNY, fresh, and timely picture book debut by cartoonist, Sam Wedelich!
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Whimsy reigns in Wedelich's debut picture book, a reimagining of the classic doomsday story. Punchy speech balloons and spare, loosely lined digital cartoons imbue the title character with abundant personality and humorous mood swings. Sporting oversize red specs and diminutive red boots, the confident chick insists that she is "not little! I am petite!... and I'm not afraid of anything!" She's rattled after an unidentified object drops from above ("Bonk!") but insists that there must be a reasonable explanation: "It's not like the sky is falling.... That's ridiculous! Or is it?" The curious chicken climbs a ladder to have a candid conversation with the sky--represented by quirky facial features suspended in the air--which insists that it is not falling ("No. Honestly, I'm fine"). But an inevitable misunderstanding ensues, with Chicken Little proclaiming it "clucky chaos! Utter hen-demonium!" before calming the frantic flock, which shifts its attention to bandaging her "bonk." Sprawling across vertical matte pages dominated by teal and ochre hues, Wedelich's hand-lettered text mimics her story's high energy, while the hens' wry asides ("We're free-range!") amplify the comedy. A spry readaloud that will entertain adults and listeners in equal measure. Ages 4--8. (June)
Horn Book Review
In this clever spin on the classic tale, Chicken Little makes it clear -- right from the get-go -- that she's got plenty of pluck. "Who are you calling 'little'?" she bristles, glaring out from the book's title page. After a page-turn, she continues, "I am NOT little! I am PETITE!...and I'm not AFRAID of ANYTHING!" Even so, when something bonks Chicken Little on the head, she nervously wonders whether the sky could be falling. Keen on facts, she starts to investigate, soon interrogating the sky itself, who insists, "I am a blanket of gas held by the pull of gravity. I do NOT fall." When a curious hen asks Chicken Little what she's up to, the explanation inadvertently leads to mass hysteria in the barnyard, leaving rational Chicken Little to quell the fear. Wedelich's hand-lettered text is chockful of humor: there's "clucky chaos" and "utter hen-demonium" on the farm. Panicky chickens eschew the "safe house" coop because they're "free-range" and -- gasp -- frantic fowl run with scissors in order to "cut the fence." Equally chuckle-worthy, Wedelich's loose-lined digital illustrations feature a protagonist who sports cowboy boots and oversized spectacles, both tinted fire-engine red. In this fractured fable, empathy ends up saving the day, and the moral (don't believe everything you hear; check the facts) is broadcast loud and clear. Tanya D. Auger September/October 2020 p.109(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A chicken investigates whether or not the sky is falling. The bespectacled fowl protagonist immediately yells out to readers that she "is NOT little!" via an ocher speech balloon. " 'Little' implies young and small," she goes on, asserting that "babies are easily scared and I'm not afraid of anything!" But when an unidentified projectile bonks her on the head, she panics, soon jumping to the conclusion that the sky is falling. Word spreads of her investigation (the sky itself trying to convince her otherwise), and soon it's "utter hen-demonium." Persuaded by the sky, the chicken calms down her comrades with an impassioned appeal to reason and sympathy (how optimistic), and she is soon clucked over, bandaged, and back to yelling that she's "FINE!" Energetic, expressive digital illustrations look like loose pen-and-ink drawings. Little has white feathers and a red comb, and she wears cunning red boots; some of her compatriots (many of whom are brown or black) are similarly shod. Her histrionics will be familiar to children and people who know children, and her probing exchange with the anthropomorphized sky is inventive, but this is an otherwise straightforward retelling of the classic tale. The penultimate scene, in which the little chicken receives medical treatment for her wound, is lackluster and anticlimactic. The bluster and squawkings will be fun for an energetic read-aloud, though, the calm narration pairing comically with colorful dialogue. Adds little depth to the original but is enjoyable nonetheless. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Sure, something clocks Chicken Little--in her minimally detailed cartoon illustrations, Wedelich sends it bouncing away unseen until the final page--and sure, her first, momentary reaction is panic. But it's a passing chicken, seeing her up a ladder making sure that the sky is still in place, who carries the rumor of imminent catastrophe to the farmyard and causes "utter hen-demonium." Neither appeals to reason nor the offer of a safe house with a roof ("We're free-range!") settles the frantic flock. How can Chicken Little calm all those ruffled feathers? Dropping the patterned wordplay common to more traditional versions (along with the multispecies cast) and leaving Foxy Loxy just an offstage threat, the whole episode takes on a kinder, gentler slant, as no sooner does Chicken Little loudly explain that she was "bonked" than the maternal instincts of her audience are aroused. The original makes better telling, but this chicken, stylish in her red cowboy boots and huge eyeglasses, is worthy of admiration for her ability to "pullet" together in the wake of a sudden mishap.