Big Chickens

My twin 4-year-olds are obsessed with this book. It's their all time favorite. We have read it so many times. They think it is absolutely hilarious and they are learning new vocabulary words with all of the creative rhymes.

Big Chickens by Leslie Helakoski is a very funny book that should be read with LOTS of expression. When I select several books to read to my grandkids, they always want this one read first. Maybe it's because they know how much gramma enjoys reading it with great gusto! This is not a book for quiet story time, this book is just so funny everyone will be laughing. The illustrations by Henry Cole are simply perfect. We laugh over and over every time we see those silly chickens in their cute outfits pwocking, flocking and rocking. The storyline is simple, the chickens see a wolf sneak into the farmyard and they run away and have quite an adventure. At one point in the story the chickens come to a lake and this is how the conversation goes: "I'm afraid of the water," said one chicken. "Ohh...." said the others. "Me too." "Me three." "Me four." "What if the boat sinks?" "What if we fall in the lake?" "What if we hit an iceberg?" The chickens sputtered, shuddered and muttered. They fluttered into themselves and each other; until... the boat tipped, and one by one they fell out. Buy this book for your kids and grandkids, it will you bring a lot of laughter into your story time.

This is why I think this book should have won the Caldecott medal...... Because it is very funny how the chickens are really scared at first and then they accidentally end up doing adventurous things and they keep on doing them and they conquer their fears.

This book seriously cracked up me and my daughters, ages 6 and 4. We were so SAD to return it to the library. The language is wonderful - when the chickens get frightened their toes "crunch under." Great details in both the story and illustrations. We got a huge kick out of the chickens' transformation by the end of the story. Very, very funny story.

This book is just delightful for an adult and for children of a wide age-range. It is great for beginnning literacy skills with repetitive phonology, use of contrasting concepts, and interesting descriptive vocabulary along with a great ending showing how teamwork can make everyone a success. This is one book I will use over and over in my preschool language development groups.

I have purchased both of Leslie Helakoski's books. I have found each to be a delightful children's story with a clever message tucked lovingly between the pages. She is truly gifted in her efforts to "teach" children through the art of story - as so often our efforts as teacher/parents, etc. get filtered out. Each book offers the child the opportunity to read and discover something about themself (i.e. courage..."The Big Chickens" or a fun with mathematics "The Smushy Bus"). But her books also allow the delicious opportunity to share the reading within the intimacy of parent-child, teacher-student, sibling-sibling and enjoy the noticing of each clever phrase, each well-chosen word to more fully take in the entire experience of her books. Much applause to Ms. Helakoski for her gift not only to chilren but her gift to the legacy of books.