Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* You think you know the story of Chicken Little? Well, maybe you do, but the Emberleys' hip, happening illustrations will make you see it in a whole new way. As before, Chicken Little ( not the brightest chicken in the coop ) gets hit with an acorn and assumes the sky is falling. Soon the usual suspects Loosey Goosey, Turkey Lurky, et al. are given the news with much squawking and shaking. Then a kindly wolf comes along with an offer that will keep them safe. . . . While the text may follow a familiar path, the art does not. The Emberleys offer what looks like cut-paper animals in well-defined shapes and eye-popping shades and set them against solid backgrounds of such pure color they seem to fly off the page. Many a spread displays skill and whimsy in equal parts: a reappearing sky-blue umbrella adorned with lacy clouds obscures the fowls' heads, and the tiny acorn sits proudly on top. Kids may not immediately get the twist at the end, but when they do, they'll find the chuckles well worth the wait.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
There's a dash of snarkiness in the father-and-daughter Emberleys' version of the familiar fable, but it's to good purpose. By wryly emphasizing that Chicken Little and his clueless compatriots have "no plan" beyond hysterically running and crashing into one another ("Honestly, with names like these, is it any wonder?" the narrator asks after introducing Loosey Goosey), readers can indulge in a healthy feeling of superiority. The Emberleys add a twist at the end, which receives full play on a foldout spread-unfortunately, the illustrations here don't track (the fowl, supposedly inside a fox's mouth, are prematurely shown outside it). The eye-popping colors and handcrafted shapes reflect the aesthetic that Rebecca Emberley has employed successfully elsewhere (see My Big Book of Spanish Words, for example), and the addition of "Bonk!" "Ack!" and other cartoony interjections heightens the silliness. However, the comic chaos that drives the story has infected the composition. Instead of savoring the action, readers may find that their eyes skid across the pages. Ages 3-7. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Farmer Brown's animals, led by the intrepid Duck, are determined to win the county fair talent contest. Duck directs sheep, cows, and pigs in giggle-producing performances, but it is his own rousing rendition of "Born to Be Wild" that steals the show. Lewin's signature watercolor illustrations showcase the humor of the text. Country music star Randy Travis drawls his way from the preposterous beginning to the side-splitting end with impeccable comic timing. Music and barnyard sound effects complete this 2008 Odyssey Honor title. Standard: Students will learn about farm animals and become familiar with the sounds they make. Learning Activity: During story time, students will have an opportunity to choose a familiar song that represents favorite farm animals ("Baa Baa Black Sheep," "Hey Diddle, Diddle," "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," etc.), demonstrating knowledge of music common to American culture and its connection with particular animals. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool, Primary) The acorn falls ("BONK!"), the chicken panics ("EEP!"), and off he runs helter-skelter "without much of a plan." The Emberleys' irreverent re-visioning and riotous illustrations play up the bird-braininess of the participants in Chicken Little's ill-informed sky-is-falling crusade. Silly sound effects and comedic editorial comments ("Honestly, with names like these, is it any wonder?") take the place of the more-familiar rhythmic repetition of characters' names. It's the dynamic illustrations and book design, however, that are the real feathers in this creative team's cap. Large, boldly colored birds flap across spacious white pages; their oversize, mesmerizingly multicolored eyes telegraph anxiety and instability. One by one the frantic flock gathers under Chicken Little's sky-blue-with-puffy-clouds umbrella (which, when set against a white background, looks like a broken piece of sky). Running for their lives, they smack into a duplicitous Foxy Loxy with yellow teeth and red and purple spiraling eyes that vibrate with barely contained craving. The fox invites them to take shelter in "this warm, dark cave" (his mouth); "without another thought in their...heads," they do. A dramatic gatefold reveals the outcomes of an ill-timed (for Foxy Loxy) sneeze; the final page assures viewers that the birds are safe (and still running). There's nothing subtle about this account of birds on the verge, which makes the book perfect for cheep storytime thrills. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
