The Silly Chicken [Paperback]

Idries Shah (Author), Jeffrey W. Jackson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2005

A humorous tale about a chicken who learns to speak as humans do. What follows will intrigue young children and, at the same time, alert them in a very amusing way to the dangers of being too gullible.

The wonderful artwork by illustrator and animator Jeff Jackson expresses his unique ability to create a lively and amusing world, rich in color, and one in which anything can happen.

Ages 3 - 8

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-Set in the Middle East, Shah's retelling of a Sufi story sends a gentle message to readers: just because someone says it's so, does not make it so. A silly chicken that a wise man teaches to speak tells the people, "The earth is going to swallow us up!" After several panicked and humorously illustrated attempts to escape the earth, the people return to their village and question the chicken about where he got his information. Of course, he hasn't the slightest idea what he's talking about. With its simple language and repeating phrases, the story begs to be told, and Jackson's colorful pastel illustrations lend a zany accent to the antics. It's a classic case of "the sky is falling" for an ancient culture, and it still has the ring of truth today.-Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Ages 5-8. People listen in awe as Silly Chicken struts through his dusty village mumbling, "Tuck-tuck-tuck-tuck-tuck." "What does it mean?" they whisper. No one seems to know. When a clever man teaches the bird to speak, Silly Chicken squawks, "The earth is going to swallow us up!" The villagers scatter, desperate to escape certain doom, before realizing the danger is only a hoax. "How could you tell us such a thing?" they ask Silly Chicken (who is identified as "he" but looks like a hen in the pictures). "How could you believe me? he quickly replies. "You think a chicken knows something just because he can talk?" Gender issues in the art aside, this quirky, good-natured fable, with bright, aptly comical pictures, ably illustrates the maxim, It's important not to believe everything you hear. Kelly Halls
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Hoopoe Books (June 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883536502
• ISBN-13: 978-1883536503
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #403,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Anthologies

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jackson's illustrations are phenomenal!, November 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Silly Chicken (Hardcover)

I've seen some of Jeff Jackson's fantastic animation work, and I'm thrilled to see that his illustration work is just as great! This book is a must-buy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Children's books by Idries Shah build mental agility, July 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Silly Chicken (Hardcover)

[....] It's clear that we need to provide our kids - especially boys - with tools to counter the violence and knee-jerk aggression ubiquitous in popular culture. These children's stories by Idries Shah are just this kind of tool. They're not preachy. They don't offer simplistic lessons or moral platitudes. They're more like exercises for "mental muscle groups" grossly underdeveloped in this culture: A strong sense of one's own value. Empathy. Flexibility in thinking and responding. Appreciating that not everyone is the same, not every outcome is predictable. Seeing that there are more than two sides to a situation. A sense that patience and perseverance can pay off, sometimes in unexpected ways. Not demanding easy answers. A sense that things are not always as they seem, that the viewpoint of "experts" - or even the whole community - is not always right. The experience of seeing something that even adults don't see, of creating clever solutions. The sense that taking positive action is possible and rewarding-even when one has to buck the tide. That help can come from where and when we least expect it. The sense that life has interesting "loose ends" for us to reflect on. And so much more. At least one of these books should be on every child's book shelf.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderfully Silly Story, July 23, 2001

By 

S Paul Wright (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Silly Chicken (Hardcover)

This is a wonderfully silly story -- silly enough to be entertaining to children -- but also insightful enough to remind adults of just how silly we often are.