Chicken Talk

A farmer and his family have 12 beloved chickens, among them seven hens named Joyce. The whole group listens avidly during readaloud time, and the hens "sometimes sat on the porch chairs and looked out over the meadow like elegant ladies." Then a message appears in the dirt: "No more arugula." Willie and Belle, the farmer's children, ponder the mystery. "Only the chickens eat arugula," Willie points out, and a hen named Trixie gives the kids a pointed look. Their parents, Otis and Abby, are quick to believe: "I thought Trixie liked arugula," Abby says. The birds' messages develop from there, with one request for "more stories about brave chickens" and a growing retinue of bystanders clamoring after eggs and chicken talk both. The story isn't complete, though, until every chicken gets a voice of its own. Artwork by Krosoczka (Hey, Kiddo) uses softly sketched lines and gentle farmyard hues to provide a sense of the farm's peace and the chickens' cleverness. MacLachlan (My Father's Words) offers droll dialogue, a bucolic setting, and a spirited defense of animals as distinct beings with unacknowledged powers of observation. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)

PreS-Gr 2--Farmer Otis, his wife, Abby, and their children, Willie and Belle, are surprised when their 12 chickens begin writing them messages. The family, extremely fond of their chickens, name them, feed them arugula, and let them roam free. Willie and Belle even allow them to peer into their books when they read outdoors. Then one day, messages start appearing: "No more arugula" and "More stories about brave chickens." The messages, sometimes containing reversals of the letter "e," seem to be written by the chickens. When one message rebukes Tripp, the mail carrier, for his fast driving, the disbelieving postal worker decides to camp out that night to discover the truth. The evening's events convince him of the chickens' authorship (though a remark by Willie might lead readers to think otherwise) and he spreads the word. Egg sales take off, and even more messages appear. The large watercolor illustrations, many of them spreads, contain a great deal of humor. The chickens are filled with personality, offering sideways glances, eye rolls, and perplexed or scolding expressions. In one amusing scene, three white hens sit on porch chairs "like elegant ladies." A chicken's-eye view shows a hen, Trixie, seeming to have a confrontation with Otis, only the farmer's boot and pants leg visible. VERDICT This story, suitable for group sharing, will engage readers and could lead to a hunt for clues about the true source of the messages.--Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Cambridge, MA