A tale of plucky poultry sure to inspire those who are afraid they may be too chicken to follow their dreams.
Zelda is a hen with a plan: “to be the first chicken in space.”
Zelda has already built her spaceship, planned the experiments she’ll carry out in space, and trained for weightlessness (by suspending herself from a tree limb). Now, all she needs is a little help from her friends. Walter the rooster won’t help with her spacesuit (he doesn’t sew!). Mike is too busy to help with the heat shielding. And Bella the hen does not “do DIY,” so she can’t help with the control panel. Zelda goes it alone; despite some difficulty counting backward at countdown, she blasts off into space! After a successful mission of weighing stardust and counting planets, she returns home to find that her friends claim partial credit for her success. Zelda’s not fazed…in fact, the stars were lonely; she plans to take some company on her next astral adventure. Australian duo Alafaci and McG have crafted a space-age “Little Red Hen” (who is white here), and even those who know the traditional tale will admire Zelda’s pluck and forgiving nature. McG’s burnished illustrations in a muted palette, full of barnyard tech and expressive chickens, pair well with Alafaci’s straightforward text.
A tale of plucky poultry sure to inspire those who are afraid they may be too chicken to follow their dreams. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-328-66081-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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