From Publishers Weekly
This sure-fire toddler pleaser finds Mother Hen taking her two little chicks on their debut outing to the playground. Brave the duo is not in fact, they're downright, well, chicken. "No, thank you," the chicks reply when a pair of dogs ask them if they'd like a turn on the seesaw. "We're just little chickens." Ditto to the pigs on the seesaw ("We might get dizzy"), the cats on the swings ("we might fall off") and the frogs and mice on the slide ("it's much too scary"). Finally tempted to the top of the slide, they freeze in fear. "Don't be such chicken chickens!" shout their would-be playmates, until a friendly beaver climbs up to help them. Gorbachev (Goldilocks and the Three Bears) takes a familiar preschool scenario and spins it out with gusto, making hay with the clever "chicken" theme and fashioning a reassuring tale of overcoming fear. His watercolor-and-pen illustrations, with their quiet palette and busy cross-hatching, convey a bustling playground populated by a winsome flock of critters. Just the ticket for any little chicken whose courage could use a boost. Ages 3-5.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
reS-Mother Hen takes her two chicks to the park for the first time. The playground is full of noisy animal children swinging on swings, twirling on the merry-go-round, and teetering on the seesaw. The newcomers are invited to join in the fun but timidly decline each time: "We're just little chickens" they say, holding each other's wing for support. Then they notice the little frogs and mice on the slide and are coaxed into trying it, only to freeze at the top of the ladder. Beaver helps them out with an ingenious idea, and the "chicken chickens" jubilantly discover that the slide and the playground are lots of fun. Bright, friendly, watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations fill the oversized pages with animals of all sizes busily playing. Gorbachev has done a clever job of endowing them with wonderfully human expressions and attitudes, while retaining their true animal shapes, all in a simple and lively style. This book treats a common experience of childhood, and it is hard to think of another title that deals with the subject as effectively. A perfect choice for a day-care read-aloud or one-on-one sharing.
Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
