From School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2–As Mr. Flegleman, an organic chicken rancher, unloads his crates in front of Phil's Poultry World, one brave and clever fowl, determined not to become Friday night's dinner, manages to escape. Unfortunately, beautiful Yetta is homesick and lonely in Brooklyn. The rats and pigeons tell her to get lost, and she almost gets hit by a bus. When she saves a little green bird, Eduardo, from a cat, she gains new friends and a family among the parrots on the telephone wires, and they teach her how to find fruit and crusts of pizza. While the narration is in English, Yetta's dialogue is in Yiddish, and the parrots speak Spanish (both with English translations and transliterations). The comical marker and ink illustrations enhance the text, but, without the language gimmick, there isn't much to the story. However, this would make for an entertaining reader's theater, especially with authentic Yiddish and Spanish accents. And dedicated fans of the Pinkwaters will appreciate the offbeat, wry humor, as will those interested in the many urban legends surrounding Brooklyn's flocks of wild parrots. Unlike Dave Horowitz's Five Little Gefiltes (Putnam, 2007) and Simms Taback's Kibitzers and Fools (Viking, 2005), which introduce children to the joys of Yiddish, the Pinkwaters'offering may have trouble reaching a wide audience.
Rachel Kamin, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, IL© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
With wry humor, this multilingual picture book tells the story of a brave chicken, Yetta. Determined that she will not be soup, she escapes from a delivery crate and runs into the streets of Brooklyn. The bright images, highlighted against plenty of white space, contrast small Yetta with the towering skyscrapers of her new urban landscape. She misses her farm home as she tries to avoid huge buses and tough mice, and she gets no help from the city birds. Then she saves a little green parrot from a pouncing cat, and the wild parrots who witness the act welcome her and show her how to find food. Yetta speaks Yiddish (gevahlt!), and her speech is printed in both Hebrew and English alphabets with the English translation. The rich language mix does not stop there, though. The parrots speak Spanish, and their dialogue, shown in italics, includes a pronunciation guide. A warm twist on the immigration story that celebrates the richness of urban diversity. Preschool-Grade 2. --Hazel Rochman
