Pirate chicken All hens on deck

Lily the chicken is a voracious reader and restless thinker (she tries to explain cold fusion to her uncomprehending coopmates) who "knew she was meant for more," writes Yanish (ScrapKins: Junk Re-Thunk). So when pirates kidnap her and her fellow chickens, Lily doesn't hide or resist. She studies the pirates' every move, and when they next go ashore, she takes over the ship, deputizes the other chickens as her own crew of buccaneers, and dubs herself Redfoot. But with great power comes a very big head-not only does Redfoot order her flock to pillage and steal, she eats most of the food and assigns difficult homework ("Why do I have to do homework if I'm a chicken?" one of the birds asks). The mutinous chickens make her walk the plank, and Lily in turn walks back her ambitions-for the moment, anyway. It's an amusing spoof with an unstoppable feathered force at its center, and high-spirited cartoons by Pauwels (Whobert Whover, Owl Detective) offer all the requisite visual nudges for it-his chickens look quite dashing in their pirate gear. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Jennifer Unter, Unter Agency. Illustrator's agent: James Burns, Bright USA. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Big dreams and an even bigger ship turn a sweet intellectual chicken into the dread pirate Redfoot.On the farm, Lily is the hen that looks to the stars and wants more than a mere barnyard can provide. So when a rowdy band of buccaneers shows up to steal the poultry, she gleefully jumps onboard. With little effort the chickens commandeer the ship one night while the pirates are all ashore, and Lily takes on the name of Redfoot and the demeanor of a tyrant. Now mutiny is in the air, and if Lily's going to remain more than shark bait, she'll need to remember what's important in life and why she should value her crew. The book is chipper from fore to aftthe gleeful amorality of chickens aiming to plunder and steal is amusing and in keeping with the tone of the book. However, the cartoonish art with bright, peppy images means that, even at their most ferocious, the chickens never really look more than mildly peeved. Though there is little about this chicken/pirate hybrid to distinguish it from others in the overstuffed piratical picture-book flock, it remains an engaging enough romp.This band of merry swashclucklers shows that a sense of curiosity and willingness to learn can give you the tools you need to conquer any situation. Even mutiny. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.