Early morning on the farm, and as the rooster crows to start the new day, an assortment of the most brightly coloured, highly patterned chickens jump down from the tree they have roosted in overnight and begin to search for their eggs. And as they search the farmyard with all its hazards, the reader is invited to help them search by matching colours and patterns so that each hen finds its eggs.
But when all are reconciled, that’s not the end of the story – there is a delightful twist as the eggs hatch into chicks that will make the reader think about things a little more deeply.
This has to be one of the most engaging books for our youngest readers that I’ve read for a while. Not only do they interact with the text and illustrations, developing their visual acuity as they match patterns and colours (a precursor to distinguishing more subtle changes like letter shapes), but the ending offers food for thought that will have a lasting impact on how they view the world. If it weren’t for this being by a Kiwi author (go us) making it ineligible, it is one I would expect to see in the CBCA awards lists in the future.
Mr Chicken has been everywhere – Paris, London, Rome, and all over Australia. But now, tired of being at home swamped by boring, everyday household chores, he is ready for a new adventure. And as he looks out at the night sky he knows just where he wants to go – Mars. So, with the help of his friend Boris the rocket builder, within a week he is off.
Undaunted by a myriad of complex levers, lights, switches and gauges, he uses his trusty guidebook to safely navigate his way past asteroids and other space travellers, and after a brief visit to a space station for lunch, he gets to his destination. But will the inhabitants welcome him or…??? Will he return safely to Earth for another adventure in the future?
For more than 10 years, the adventures of Mr Chicken have delighted young readers and led to all sorts of engaging, intriguing learning experiences – read some ideas in the linked reviews – and this one is no different. Imagine being here one day and on Mars in seven!
When Mr Chicken asked Boris to build him a rocket, he says he wants “all the comforts of home” so that could set the designers in the class planning and drawing to show just what its interior might look like, and while Hobbs has had fun with naming all the gidgets and gadgets the linguists could not only work out what they are for but suggest new ones (with labels) for the class models. Those with a penchant for space travel could investigate the history of its exploration, the astronomers could identify, explore and explain asteroids, planets, stars and even Mars itself, while the practical thinkers could investigate what is currently happening in travel to Mars. The writers could dream up Mr Chicken’s next adventure to another planet and the illustrators could bring that to life.
And all the while, everyone is enjoying this new adventure with this intrepid explorer as he enriches their learning and lives in a way that few ever do.
This is a tale of a chicken who wasn’t chicken. In fact, Gloria was the opposite…
She was brave, she was bold, never did what she was told…
She ran her own face, she got in your face,,,
Then, one night she disappeared without trace! Although the family searched high and low when Gloria did not take her place on the perch, and feared the worst when they saw a no-longer-trim hawk circling, the other chooks were quite glad she wasn’t there because they didn’t really like her. However, after a week they started to miss her and began accusing each other of being the one to scare her away. Will Gloria ever grace the henhouse again, or was that hawk not-so-trim for a reason?
This is an hilarious story from the versatile Jacqueline Harvey (Kensy and Max, Willa and Woof, Alice-Mirandaand Clementine Rose)made even more special by the glorious illustrations of Kate Isobel Scott, the second time the two have partnered to produce a picture book. Young readers who also march to the beat of their own drum will resonate with Gloria as will those who can be intimidated by such leadership potential, while adults of a certain vintage will appreciate the reference to, perhaps inspiration for, Gloria Gaynor’s immortal song, I Will Survive.
Because, thankfully, Gloria does survive and lives to rule another roost!!!
Hope the chicken is the captain of Courage, a somewhat ramshackle ship that crisscrosses the oceans of the world, relying on Hope’s blind faith that all would be well throughout its voyages. When Hope feels queasy she clucks out a tune until the feeling goes; when she feels tired she dozes in the breeze… But when the ship develops a leak, and, as usual, Hope procrastinates about fixing it things start to deteriorate and Hope finds that hope is not enough to save the ship, and she learns a powerful lesson about being proactive.
On the surface, this is a pleasant story that will engage young readers, particularly as they engage with the onomatopoeia as the drip, drip, dribble becomes larger and use the illustrations to tell the story that the words don’t. They might even explore the old adage “A stitch in time saves nine” and how such traditional sayings can still apply to modern life. What situations can they identify that that saying could apply to? Are there other sayings that might apply to Hope’s predicament?
But, in line with the publisher’s philosophy of “tackl[ing] important social issues cleverly disguised as narratives” there is an allegory that older readers might like to tease out and not only discuss the issues it raises but why an author might choose a picture book format to portray them, thus developing their literary understanding of the purpose and power of the picture book. It could also be an interesting exercise in perspective – do all the readers identify the same message and if so (or otherwise), why? They might even debate whether using a form of entertainment for children is a legitimate or ethical way to portray a political message, exploring the text-to-self and text-to-world connections, as well as suggesting others they have read with a similar theme. Food for thought that enables this book to be used across age groups.
Fran is not a good business chicken… She is not neat; does not arrive on time at work at her office job every morning and she certainly doesn’t take everything very seriously as the others do. Instead of staid business ties, she prefers brightly coloured scarves, and sharing treats and jokes is much more fun that staring at a screen all day.
When her out-of-the-ordinary ways come to the attention of management she is hauled before the boss, but no matter how hard she works and tries to conform, she is still laid off. Is the end for Fran or is there another path she can follow? One that not only makes her happy, but all those staid old chooks as well?
This is a new take on an old theme of having the courage to be yourself and follow your own dreams, but once again McGeachin has put his own spin on it so that first and foremost it is an engaging story that will make young readers really start to cheer for Fran and her right and need to be herself, as well as being free to explore different paths to discover just who that is. .
“What happens when a couple of kids and their mother, who has early-onset dementia, welcome some backyard chickens into their lives? “
This is the tagline used by the publisher on the website but the real story of this story is found in the back story of the book, found in the teachers’ notes and the media release.
While there are some books addressing the impact of dementia on young children’s lives, they mostly focus on the child’s grandparents, yet 28 000 of Australians living with dementia today are mothers under the age of 50 with children at home, the author being one of them. And so the chances are that there is someone amongst the school’s students who is having to face the challenges of a mum who doesn’t act like herself anymore, forgetting who they are and all the other symptoms that come with the disease, including getting cranky to the point of frightening the little ones.
Told from the perspective of one of her children, this is a sensitive, gentle book that explores the impact of the condition as more and more the children have to become their mother’s carers. The chickens, imbued with personality through both words and pictures, add a lightness to what could have become a sad, depressing story but is actually one full of love, understanding and support both for the children, their mum and the reader who might be relating more closely than we realise.
I have often praised the editors at EK Books for being brave to tread a path that others don’t, by publishing books that lift the lid on tricky issues that affect our children, and this is no exception. While, as teachers, we like to think we know and understand the out-of-school issues that our students are facing, it is books like this that give us so much more insight so we can better understand, as well as opening up the topic for the child’s peers to gain a glimpse into what might be happening in their friend’s life. How do you explain that your mate’s mum might not remember you from one day to the next, when she is having trouble remembering her own children. But the one thing that permeates both the book and the reality, is that undying, unconditional love between parent and child that can never be underestimated or overestimated- and if that is the only message a young reader takes from this, then job done and done well, Michelle Worthington.
GREETINGS. AM LOOKING FOR A MAJOR CRIME TO SOLVE. PLEASE INFORM ME OF ANY RECENT MURDERS, KIDNAPPINGS OR JEWEL HEISTS IN THIS AREA.’
A scruffy chook, literally henpecked by the other hens, Clara has become addicted to the detective shows she sees on the humans’ television and now she wants to be a famous detective like her hero Amelia X with her own TV show. She can read claw marks, find missing feathers and knows Morse code and semaphore, but being small and scruffy chook no one takes her seriously. But when she teams up with Olive, the daughter of the local policeman, they might just be able to solve the crimes that have been troubling the town of Little Dismal.
And having solved the crime and prevented the theft of some sheep, but in the process having made the ducks look less than the courageous creatures they perceive themselves to be, the ducks are ticked off and are seeking revenge. They decide they are going to make Clara’s life a misery but brave as they profess to be, none is willing to lead the charge. Until Rita, in disgrace for offering poetry at the recent Talent Night, volunteers in an effort to seek redemption. But But Rita finds more than revenge on her mission. She uncovers a dastardly plan to chook-nap the clever chicken that will take them both a long way from home. But her unlikely friendship with a small human and the help of some street-smart birds just might save the day and inspire an epic poem!
This is a LOL duo for the newly independent reader who likes something completely wacky and entertaining, written in an easy-to-read unique diary format with plenty of other textual supports while being thick enough to impress peers! Both see the human world through a different lens offering interesting insights as well as hilarious observations and misinterpretations, but more than that, they validate the importance of being yourself regardless if that is a little different to the norm and the expectation of others. Young readers who see themselves as being a little outside whatever is currently accepted amongst their peers will delight in seeing both Clara and Rita rise above the pack (flock?) to triumph.
In the first book, the reader is introduced to Cranky Chicken. Everything about Chicken is cranky. Cranky eyes, cranky eyebrows, super-sharp cranky beak, even cranky scratchy feet. And everything makes Chicken cranky. The sun is too bright, the dirt is too dirty…
By why is Cranky Chicken so angry? Could she be lonely? So what happens when a very cheerful worm named Speedy, who just wants to be friends, comes along? Could it be the end of the worm or a new start for Cranky Chicken?
In the second episode , Cranky Chicken is super hungry and the crank-O-meter is on high. What can Speedy the worm do to help? How about … a yummy snack? A day at the beach? An unsurprising party? It’s party time for Cranky and Speedy, two Best Feathered Friends!
This is a new series about mismatched friends who bring joy, companionship and a new perspective to each other’s lives for newly independent readers who are dipping their toes into the graphic novel format and are able to follow a story that is based on speech between the characters rather than having lots of extra descriptive test or illustration. The action is carried in the conversation and captions in separate but connected stories that demonstrate that there are many ways to be a friend, particularly accepting each other for who they are as they are what is offered as friendship for all that it is.
When a little chick hatches from a little rock in their garden, Jay and Essie go on a mission to find her family. Assuming that because she hatched from an egg. they go to the chicken zoo to search. But while they find all sorts of different chickens, none of them are the little chick’s parents. Will there be a happy ending?
Told in rhyme, this story follows a familiar theme of searching for a parent by comparing the baby’s characteristics to those of the adults, but this has the twist of introducing young readers to some of the different species of chooks that there are, beyond those that are more familiar. Some of very strange but sadly, this little chick isn’t like them at all.
As well as that aspect, young readers can also consider whether chickens are the only things that hatch from eggs, and they could even start to compare their own looks to those of their parents so they can see the various features they share that make them a unique blend of genes.
Was the little chick even a chick? Perhaps a story that initiates the discussion about where they came from.
Can your children tell the difference between a beach chicken (seagull) and a bin chicken (white ibis) ?
Or a roof chicken (pigeon) and a chicken chicken (chicken)?
In this introduction to the birds commonly seen in Australian backyards, including large inflatable flamingoes and swans, Andy Geppert mixes a few basic facts with a lot of humour to make for an enjoyable read for young children who will just be noticing the differences between the species. Clever illustrations and funny text combine to make this the most unusual field guide but one which will pique little ones’ curiosity and have them trying to identify the birds that they see. They could even make a chart and mark each one off as it is spotted from their window, beginning their skills in data gathering, mapping and interpretation! It’s the simple things….
