Millie's Chickens

An equally sweet companion to Laurie Krebs and Cis’ The Beeman (2008), though young children (and their parents) with a yen to raise poultry for pets or other purposes will be better off with a conventional manual. 

K-Gr 2--This sweet British import features a rhyming text that highlights various aspects of poultry care. "Here are the chicks, /Hatching out well, /Pecking their way/From inside the shell." Appealing illustrations use loose acrylics with saturated color. Millie's idyllic backyard is filled with plants, a slide, a clothesline, and happily pecking chickens. One of Millie's hens, Silkie, gets lost, but is quickly found with a clutch of eggs, and Millie is kept contentedly busy looking after the chickens and their new baby chicks. Endpapers feature an assortment of heritage breed chickens on a soft blue background. The back matter includes a colorful illustrated glossary and informative text on keeping chickens, chicken anatomy, parts of an egg, and the life cycle of chickens as well as suggestions of different cooking methods for eggs. VERDICT An appealing picture book answer to the question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"--Madigan McGillicuddy, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Atlanta, GA