Chicken talk around the world

More and more children are growing up in cities, far from where most food is produced, even as interest in where food comes from is on the rise. This is a response to that increasing fascination--and a satisfying one. This charming shout-out to grandmothers, poultry, and rural lifestyles shows that this trio--as it turns out--can be found in almost every country around the globe. Morgan's lush, cheerful illustrations transport readers to farms from India to Kenya to France, painting pastoral scenes in six different countries and teaching vocabulary in six languages, all involving the ritual of gathering eggs at Grandma's. The fowls and their chitchat change from culture to culture, too (for example, buk-buk in the U.S. translates to ko-ko-ko in Japan). After making the rounds and hearing what the birds have to say, readers' last stop is the breakfast table, where they are left with the final and most important language lesson: how to say thank you to Grandma for a delicious, egg-filled breakfast.

Six grandmothers and their individual chicken farms around the world take the spotlight in this accessible picture book that centers language. Opening on Gram's U.S. farm in Walla Walla, Wash., Schaefer subsequently leads readers through farms in Mexico City; "a small village in Kenya"; Japan's Honshu Island; Bihar, India; and Bordeaux, France, imparting "chicken talk" in the respective language of each country. "And as they search around for grubs and grain--voila! (vwah-LA)--you hear: Clou, clou./ Clou-ee!/... Chicken talk in French." Textured strokes and sunny hues by Morgan depict the grandmas, abuelas, obachans, and more as gently smiling figures against distinct landscapes. Young readers will enjoy learning how chicken onomatopoeia differs across languages, as well as the various names for grandmothers, in this simple yet educational story that encourages the learning of language and culture through shared experience. Ages 4--8. (Mar.)

Chicken onomatopoeias explored in six different languages. Author Schaefer brings readers on a linguistic tour of six countries on four continents to explore the very similar sounds human speakers make to mimic chickens and roosters. Sticking to major, widely spoken languages--English in the U.S., Spanish in Mexico, French in France, Swahili in Kenya, Hindi in India, and Japanese in Japan, to be precise--the text imagines young readers visiting grandmothers and their flocks around the globe. Two spreads per language, all ending with "Chicken talk in [insert language here]," introduce readers to their respective words for hens, roosters, eggs, and grandmas, complete with parenthetical English phonetic spellings. Illustrator Morgan's blocky, pastel-like illustrations fill the pages with loving families and a variety of unspecified chicken breeds. While this may not be a read to return to again and again, it certainly opens up the concept of different languages' approaches to sound. Disappointingly, though, the book ends with illustrations of each grandmother's egg-based dish, and while the unnamed smiling children introduce readers to each language's thank you, they provide no insight on their cultural foods. Altogether, a fine jumping-off point for a lifelong love of chickens, language, food, or all three--but with gaps. An interesting but limited introduction to animal onomatopoeia. (Informational picture book. 2-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.