From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4–Four chickens share a trough with a rooster and wonder why he has ample space while they are lined up cheek by jowl. When the hesitant hens finally question him, the chauvinistic fowl is outraged and further reduces the amount of food that they receive. Meanwhile, he is working on a mysterious project that is only conveyed using sophisticated visual clues. At times, the text is abrupt in its transitions. For example: We'll take a course in self-esteem faces a page that says, The hens were feeling dizzy when they got off the bus. The art that accompanies this spread is equally confusing. Otherwise, the illustrations are expressive, clearly delineated watercolors filled with funny details. Humor abounds in the art, but many youngsters are unlikely to understand the tension that mounts around this gender-related theme.
–Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PreS-Gr. 2. When the small rooster in the barnyard turns into a bully and tries to take over all the space and all the food, the four hens try to be nice. When that doesn't work, they take a class in self-esteem and learn to stand up for their rights. The "strength training" jokes and the feminist fun may mean more to adults than kids, but the bright ink-and-watercolor illustrations in cartoon style manage to make the fowl seem almost human. The birds' body language tells a story that will make kids laugh at the self-important, bossy rooster, who refuses to know his place.
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
