The Featherless Chicken [Hardcover]

Chih-Yuan Chen (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Filled with bold illustrations and wry humor, this twist on the ugly duckling tale places a chicken in the lead role. The chicken has no feathers and he longs to play with the other beautiful chickens in the yard, but they turn him down, ridiculing him for his bare skin. When he discovers a creative camouflage for his paltry plumage, however, the other chickens allow him to join them on a boat ride, never expecting that a surprising accident will change the way they see themselves and the (formerly) featherless chicken.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3–With the same gentle humor and sensitivity to children that she showed in Guji Guji (Kane/Miller, 2004), Chen introduces a young featherless chicken. Not only does this poor creature get cold when the wind blows, but he's also afflicted with miserable allergies. One day, he sees four beautifully feathered chickens on their way to go boating. He asks if he can join them, but they shun his unadorned looks. Then, thanks to a muddy puddle, bits of this and that, and a jaunty tin-can hat, he is transformed into a beautifully adorned fowl, and the others invite him to come along. During a flap about which chicken is the most handsome, the newly fancy fellow lets out a terrible sneeze, and the boat capsizes. The dunking leaves all five chickens featherless and frolicking together. The chickens' comic expressions and their colorful feathers are perfectly rendered in Chen's soft palate of earth tones and subtle splashes of color on thick, creamy paper. The text is set in a typewriterlike font that adds to the style and overall charm of this memorable outing.–Genevieve Gallagher, Murray Elementary School, Charlottesville, VA
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About the Author

Chih-Yuan Chen is an illustrator of children's stories and the author of The Best Christmas Ever; Guji Guji (a New York Times Top 10 children's bestseller); and On My Way to Buy Eggs (named a Best Children's Book by Publishers Weekly).

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Heryin Books, Inc.; 1st English Ed edition (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976205696
• ISBN-13: 978-0976205692
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,342,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, December 18, 2006

By 

Mama Loves Books (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Featherless Chicken (Hardcover)

I bought this book on a whim because the illustrations were so beautiful, and I liked the artistic nature of the book itself (nice thick quality pages, unique font style, wonderful artwork). It turned out to be a funny story that my 6 year old daughter adores. She immediatly sympathized with the main character, the featherless chicken, who is excluded by the more beautiful feathered birds. But, in the end, following series of funny events, the beautiful birds end up exposed and naked in the elements, just like the featherless bird. I think this book sends a good message--we are all the same underneath, those who act uppity may one day find themselves stripped of their false sense of superiority, so be connected and open to others no matter what.