Earthquack!

The sky isn't in danger of falling, but the ground beneath Chucky Ducky's feet is quaking. As he warns each of his skeptical friends, they, in turn, come to accept Chucky's conclusion that the earth is crumbling. Even Brewster Rooster, who, as per his job description, only doodle-doos once a day, becomes convinced of impending disaster and sounds the alarm. In this adaptation of the "Henny Penny" tale, Palatini replaces Foxy-Loxy with an equally nefarious lip-smacking antagonist in Weasel, who operates under the guise of an ermine named Herman. Moser captures the essence of Weasel's dark determination as well as the bug-eyed hysteria of the farm animals in his expressive graphite and transparent watercolor illustrations. The text pages alternate with full-page illustrations in a simple but effective book design. Palatini's text is funny, with contemporary dialogue, puns, and a fast-paced narrative rich in rhythm and alliteration (but not overwhelmingly so). Intentional or not, the conclusion, which involves the surfacing of a pair of underground drilling mole brothers, reminds one of the classic Bugs Bunny lament, "I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque." Once again, audiences will be thankful for burrowing mammals with poor senses of direction, and, in this case, for a rollicking retelling of an old classic.-Carol L. MacKay, Camrose Public Library, Alberta, Canada

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Earthshaking rumblings make for a skittish duckling (and other nervous farm animals) in this somewhat long-winded variation on the Henny Penny theme. After completing his morning laps, a jittery Chucky Ducky fervently attempts to warn the other skeptical and pun-fully named animals (e.g., Lucy Goosey, Sue Ewe, Billy the kid) of what he's sure is an earthquake (He heard the ground grumble. He felt the ground rumble). Oh, it can't be that baa-ad, retort the lambs while the pig grunts, Hogwash! Several lengthy episodes of earth crumbling and animal tumbling pass before a hungry weasel (sporting a white coat and masquerading as Herman Ermine) provides a refreshing detour and real tension to the story. Moser's (Sit, Truman!) realistic watercolors play up the climax, as they place the large, expressive characters front and center against mostly white backdrops that darken when the lip-licking weasel hits the scene. Palatini's (Bedhead) frequently rhyming and sometimes clichEd prose dabbles in cultural references that may elude younger readers (Joel and Lowell Mole, who cause the earthshaking commotion while looking for their cousin, Garret Ferret, ask, Does anybody know the way to San Jose? We think we took a wrong turn at the Lincoln Tunnel). Children may be left scratching their heads as the tale concludes that Chucky Ducky, right from the beginning, was all wet. Ages 4-8. (June)

Copyright 2002 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.