It's A Bird! It's a Plane! It's SPACE CHICKEN! Chicken in Space by Adam Lehrhaupt

ZOEY WASN'T LIKE THE OTHER CHICKENS. SHE HAD DREAMS.

SHE HAD PLANS.

Clearly Zoey's eyes are on the skies. With a tiny satellite dish atop her space helmet, she is ready for launch.

Well, not exactly. There are plenty of naysayers among her peers.

Henry the napping hound yawns and opens his sleepy eyes.

"I HAVE PLENTY OF SPACE RIGHT HERE."

Pip the mouse is intimidated.

"SOUNDS DANGEROUS!"

"NOT DANGEROUS!" SAID ZOEY. "AN ADVENTURE!"

Clara the cow points out that Zoey has no space ship. But to the ebullient Zoey, that's just an opportunity!

She grabs an empty basket in the barnyard, and caught in an apple tree she spots a bunch of helium balloons.

"ZOEY ALWAYS FINDS A WAY!" SAID SAM THE PIG.

Sam has some reservations about leaving for outer space before lunch, but with pie in the back of his mind, he parks his trotters in the gondola of  Zoey's spacecraft and they cast off for the stars. Their capsule rises above the trees.

The view from space IS spectacular! Spread out below them are the farm fields and the baseball field, a game in progress. A pop fly sails by.

"AN ASTEROID!"

Sam warns Zoey to steer away from a loose kite soaring by.

"A COMET!"

But even when an attack of aliens (a.k.a., a flock of crows) proves the downfall of Zoey's space mission, Zoey proclaims their sudden touchdown in a truckload of corn to be a perfect landing and presents Sam with an appropriate reward.

A MOON PIE!

But while taking a bow to her public, the opportunistic Zoey is already eyeing an open sea chest in the corner of the barn, with an intriguing pirate hat and scimitar inside, in Adam Lehrhaupt's Chicken in Space (HarperCollins, 2016), and while Clara the cow may declare Zoey a bit spacey, youngsters will be happy to follow her into more adventures. You can't keep a good chicken down, and Zoey is one chicken who is sure to rise to the occasion.

Much of the fun of this story comes from the clever illustrations of artist Shahar Kober, who zooms in on Zooey's prosaic barnyard buddies and zooms out for some eye-catching perspectives from our heroine's voyage to outer space. No need to worry that youngsters may be lured by this fanciful tale into ill-conceived space flights; author Lehrhaupt makes it clear that Zoey is all too aware that hers is mostly a jolly flight of fancy, the sort of game of "play like..." that kids love. "A fun story for inspiring positive thinking, problem-solving, and old-fashioned imaginative play," says School Library Journal.

Wingin' It! Chicken Lily by Lori Mortenson

LILY WAS A LOT OF THINGS.

A CAREFUL COLORER, A PATIENT PUZZLER...

BUT LILY WAS SOMETHING ELSE....

Lily is a big chicken.

Oh, Lily is a charming petite little chick. She plays well with others. At recess games of hide-and-seek, she's the last one to be found, because...

SHE NEVER MADE A PEEP!

Although she always knows the answers to the teacher's questions, Lily never lifts a wing to be called on. She's strictly low-profile poultry. In the cafeteria Lily sticks to her little lunch sack of chicken feed while the others pig out on new foods. And as far as Lily is concerned, the training wheels are never coming off her bike.

And then one morning Mrs. Lop posts a notice that strikes terror in Lily's timid craw:

GRAND SLAM POETRY JAM!

Grab your pen and write, write, write.

Read your poem tomorrow night!

Some of Mrs. Lop's pupils are energized by the challenge, but poor Lily nearly molts at the thought. What if she is too mortified to recite? Will she chicken out? Will she stand in front of everyone with egg on her face? What if her recitation lays an egg?

SHE WISHED SHE COULD FLY THE COOP!

But in the best tradition of story book heroines, Lily finds the courage at last to strut her stuff in Lori Mortenson's latest, Chicken Lily (Henry Holt and Company, 2016). Mortenson gives free-range to some wonderful wordplay, laying out a bunch of good groaners, letting almost no chicken cliche' go untouched in this tale of "chicken" Lily, who finally spreads her wings and finds her inner ham just in time. Artist Nina Crittenden populates the illustrations with some undeniably cute barnyard critters who sweetly egg the heroine on as her, er, pluck eventually comes home to roost.

While the plot itself will resonate more with shy Kindergarten and first-grade kids intimidated by their first show-and-tell experiences, more sophisticated primary readers will applaud the ample poultry wordplay, as author Mortenson lays out just about all the poultry puns in the boo and her protagonist puts that famously timid folk character Chicken Little to shame at last.

All In Good Time! Peep and Egg (I'm Not Hatching!) by Laura Gehl

"ARE YOU HATCHING YET?" PEEP ASKED.

"WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN ONCE YOU ARE HATCHED!"

"TOO SCARY!" SAID EGG.

Being hatched is not all it's cracked up to be!

At least that's Egg's position, and his decision remains firm.

At least one position is cleared up in the "Which came first?" conundrum. Peep is definitely the first, and she's ready to do it ALL!

"WE CAN STROLL TO THE POND AND SAY 'HI!' TO THE DUCKS!" SAID PEEP.

"TOO FAR."SAID EGG.

I'M NOT HATCHING!"

One is the loneliest number. So Peep persists in her persuasion. They could take a ride on Sheep's warm, woolly back. They could play hide and seek in the tall grass. At night they could roost on the tractor and count the stars. But the deal is not a soft sell. Egg is a hard case to crack.

"I'M NOT HATCHING!"

Even the Peep's promise of a blueberry muffin picnic fails to crack Egg's resolve.

With a sort of '"See you later, procrastinator" wave, Peep walks away to find her own fun alone.

And then she hears that sound!

It seems Egg's resolve has, er, cracked, at last, and with a cap of shell still clinging to his head, he runs after Peep to join her in their big adventure.

Laura Gehl's Peep and Egg: I'm Not Hatching (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Press, 2016) is the best egg story of the spring season. Stubborn and scared, Egg finally gives in to the inevitable at last, and all's well that ends well in this subtly told story of taking that next big step in life. Preschoolers will empathize with both characters, the early adopter and the late bloomer, all the while knowing how this one is bound to end. In simple thick-line drawings, each of the few lines illustrator Joyce Wan uses is fully expressive, and the artwork is all it's cracked up to be in this comical pre-Easter tale that begs to be read--with lots of eggs-pression.

Whozzat? Smick by Doreen Cronin

GOOD, SMICK!

STICK?

Smick's off-page owner points out a stick (surprisingly, a digitally offered image of a real stick) and big, droopy-eared Smick is up for a game of throw-and-fetch--until a small Cluck is heard.

What? It's ... a CHICK?

What should Smick do with that? Fetch it like the stick? His human nixes that move quick!

There is a better way to play with a chick, and Smick and Chick soon figure that out, as Chick rides along on Smick's head as he fetches the stick. Chick is more fun than a stick. Chick is a sidechick! No, wait! He's a...

SIDEKICK!

And Smick's little sidekick chick sticks it out and earns a lick from Smick's long tongue in the latest preschool pleaser from Doreen Cronin (of Click Clack Moo fame).

Veteran wordsmith Cronin's Smick (Viking Press, 2015) shows again why she's a best-selling writer who knows how to use simple text to charm readers and to inspire illustrators to remarkable heights. Juana Medina's Smick is big, goofy white dog, outlined in thick, amorphous blackline, ready for anything, and his new friend is a bright-hued collaged leaf-shape with minimalist features and skinny bird legs, whose expressions extend Cronin's equally spare text. Dogs just wanna have fun, and with this playful pair, the author's slick rhyming vocabulary will have preschoolers "reading" their way through this delightful romp in the park. "This clever and appealing glimpse into the start of some delightful friendships is one doggone good time," says School Library Journal's starred review.

For more odd-couple pairings, share this one with Jennifer Sattler's Chick 'n' Pug or sequels. (See reviews here.)

The Shape Caper: The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure by Doreen Cronin

"HELP! HELP!"

"THERE IS SOMETHING BIG AND SCARY IN THE YARD!" GASPED TAIL, THE SQUIRREL.

The Chicken Squad--the chicks Dirt, Poppy, Sweetie, and Sugar--pop out of their green shoe. Dirt sees that there is a mystery afoot, and notebook in hand, she starts to interrogate Tail for more details about the intruder. Master of the thesaurus, Tail can only add that the thing is also enormous and frightening, huge and terrifying!

Dirt goes for clarification.

"WHAT SHAPE IS IT?"

"BIG," SAID TAIL.

"BIG IS NOT A SHAPE!" SNAPS DIRT.

Dutifully, with crayon in hand Sugar takes over basic shape instruction, but when she draws a circle, Tail faints dramatically on the floor of the chicken coop.

But when he recovers, Tail suddenly comes up with details about the scary thing--it is round; it's shiny, possibly hunter green, hissing, and disturbing the atmosphere. To Sugar the identity of the intruder is obvious! It's a UFO, just landed in the backyard to abduct an earthling, maybe even a squirrel. Or maybe even a--

YIKES! Their mom, Moosh, is out in the yard!

The chicken squad mobilizes for undercover action.

"QUICK!" SAID SUGAR. "POPPY, SWEETIE, GO TO THE SUPPLY ROOM AND GET ME GRASS CLIPPINGS, A BAG OF ROCKS, A BALL OF STRING, A TANK OF HELIUM, AND AN ORANGE BALLOON."

"CHICKENS COULDN'T POSSIBLY HAVE ALL THOSE THINGS!" SAID TAIL.

"THEN YOU DON'T KNOW CHICKENS!" SUGAR REPLIED.

And when J.J. Tully, retired search-and-rescue dog, is awakened from his nap by the sound of rocks pinging off Barbara's brand-new barbeque grill, thrown by four suspicious, skinny-legged clumps of grass, he knows his fuzzy yellow charges are at it again, in the first book of Doreen Cronin's new series, The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure (Atheneum Books, 2014). Snappy comebacks and hilarious barnyard banter have been long been Cronin's forte' and Kevin Cornell's full-page comic illustrations bring back J.J. Tully and Mama Hen Moosh's chipper chicks in a happy continuation of the earlier series, which began with The Trouble with Chickens: A J.J. Tully Mystery. (J. J. Tully Mysteries).

Authoring truly hilarious beginning chapter books is a rare talent, and savvy readers of Nick Bruel's Bad Kitty series
will appreciate Cronin's ironic ending in which J.J. Tully, Tail, and the chicks share the hot dogs recovered from owner Barbara's formerly shiny new barby:

"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ALIENS?" ASKED TAIL.

"THEY WERE AFTER FOOD. THEIR WHOLE SPACESHIP WAS FULL OF HOT DOGS. THEIR SHIP IS DOWN FOR GOOD." SAID SUGAR.

"AND WE THOUGHT THEY WERE HERE FOR US," POPPY LAUGHED SCORNFULLY.

"LIKE ANYBODY WOULD EAT A CHICKEN!"

Be sure to read this one with its latest sequel handy, By Doreen Cronin The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken: The Next Misadventure (The Chicken Squad) [Hardcover] (Atheneum Books, 2014) for more merry misadventures of the chicken squad.

Chicken for Dinner? Dinnertime for Chicks by Janee Trasler

"DINNERTIME, CHICKIES. LET'S ALL EAT

WASH YOUR WINGS AND HAVE A SEAT."

If only it were as easy as their nannies, Cow, Pig, and Sheep, try to make it sound. But it's not so simple to get lively young ones to sit down and eat a proper dinner.

Cow's Tex-Mex tacos are too spicy and Sheep's noodle dish is too drippy. The Chickies insist that they'd prefer something more...um... "chocolate chippy."

But Pig insists that vegetables and meats come before sweet treats, and soon the Chickies are smacking their beaks and chowing down.

PASS THE PEAS...
PASS THE SPUDS AND BROCCOLIS!

Will their tummies have any room left for dessert?

Janee Trasler's dining outing for her darn cute little Chickies, Dinnertime for Chickies (HarperFestival, 2014), has all the appeal of her earlier toddler treats, with a poofy, padded cover, polished pastel palette, and deceptively simply comic characters. Trasler gets a lot of expressive faces out of circles, dots, lines, and a few squiggles, and her vivacious verses are just as memorable. Little listeners will pipe up to finish the clever punchlines the second time around, and the Chickies may even inspire some kids to eat their peas and broccolis when it's their dinnertime.

Trasler's companion board book stories include Bedtime for Chickies, Pottytime for Chickies, and her latest hot and tasty, A New Chick for Chickies.

Lonely Guy: Peepsqueak Wants a Friend by Leslie Ann Clark

AS THE SUN CAME UP OVER THE FARM, ALL THE BABY CHICKS WENT RUNNING INTO THE YARD TO PLAY.

TWO BY TWO, TWO BY TWO, TWO BY TWO

By the time Peepsqueak arrives on the scene, all the other chicks are paired off and oblivious that he is the "only one" all alone.

But the perky Peep figures out the social scene right away.

YOU ARE TWO AND I AM ONE.
MY SEARCH FOR A FRIEND HAS JUST BEGUN!

His friends only notice him as Peepsqueak skitters off into the woods, ignoring the suddenly solicitous warnings of the other chicks.

Peep soon finds some sizeable tracks which for some reason seem promising to follow. Along the way he encounters several naysayers--two hedgehogs and  a duo of birds who point out that it's raining. Peep picks a large leaf to hold over his head, recites his oft--repeated refrain, and keeps on skipping through the puddles as he presses on. A couple of raccoons munch on apples and point out that it is lunchtime, but Peep persists in his quest until the footprints end--as foreshadowed--in a dark cave.

Will Peepsqueak find a friend in that cold, dark cave. Does he dare enter?

Leslie Ann Clark's brand-new story of the persistent Peepsqueak, Peepsqueak Wants a Friend! (Harper, 2012) finds the persevering Peep on another mission impossible, looking for love in all the wrong places! Of course there's a happy ending beyond the entrance of that forbidding cave, a furry friend whose fuzzy lap (and shoulders and head) have room for all of Peepsqueak's friends back at the farm. And our loquacious little protagonist has a newly-minted personal proverb all apropos for the occasion:

FRIENDS DON'T JUST COME IN TWOS.
REAL FRIENDS HAVE ROOM FOR ALL. 

As in her first book, Peepsqueak!, Clark's illustrations, done in black ink-and-pen, digitally colored in beguilingly bright hues, show off their so-cute chick  to best advantage. This story is good for reading aloud any time when kids need to be reminded that it's not all about themselves and their best buddy, that they need to stay inclusive as well.

Fine Feathered Friends: Peep & Ducky by David Martin

"PLAY CARS?" SAYS PEEP.

"BEEP! BEEP!" SAYS DUCKY.

"I'M A JEEP," SAYS PEEP.

"I'M A TRUCKY," SAYS DUCKY.


Birds of a feather flock together, and little chick Peep and sturdy buddy Duck are no exception.

They can't WAIT to get together every day at the playground.  These two feather friends share a fondness for slides (KaThump!) that give Duck a boo-boo on his bummy, but a tickle and giggle shared by Peep make him all better.  Puddles are more Duck's idea of fun than Peep's, but snacks meet with unanimous approval.  Even a necessary comfort stop finds them sharing identical potties!

Time flies when you're having fun, and before they know it, it's time to leave. Momma Hen calls Time!  and Poppa Duck agrees.  The two playmates leave their excavation project reluctantly and wave goodbye--until next time, that is.

David Martin's tale of two little fowl friends, Peep and Ducky (Candlewick, 2013), is as cheery a springtime toddler outing tale as can be found, illustrated fetchingly by David Walker's jelly-bean-hued cartoon characters, a wee blue chick and a little yellow duck, a pair of just-hatched lucky buddies who have each found their own fine feathered friend.  An easy reader, filled with a preschooler's favorite things to do in a park, this one has lots of rhymes, sound effects, and repetition ("Lucky, Lucky, Lucky") to tempt the ear of the youngest picture book fan. Author/reviewer Claudia Mills cheers: "This rollicking portrait of the sweet, simple pleasures of young childhood is a picture book treat that should leave child readers feeling as lucky as Peep and Ducky." 

Home Again: Nora and Her Chicks by Patricia MacLachlan

WHEN NORA CAME TO AMERICA FROM RUSSIA, THE PRAIRIE WAS NOT BEAUTIFUL TO NORA.

THERE WERE NO TREES LIKE THE RUSSIAN TREES, ONLY ONE COTTONWOOD BY THE RIVER.

"DON'T CRY, NORA," SAID HER FATHER. "WE'LL PLANT TREES."

THERE WERE NO HILLS LIKE THE RUSSIAN HILLS.

"YOU CAN'T PLANT HILLS!" SAID NORA.

And for Nora, putting down roots in her new home is hard.  Mother and Father are too busy working to think about faraway hills and lost trees. But Nora feels lost under that big prairie sky. Her baby brother Milo is sweet, but he can't even talk to her yet. Nora wants a friend, but the only girl within miles is Susannah, who is too shy to speak, to do anything more than give a tiny wave as her wagon goes by.

As Milo grows, Nora finds a stray dog she names Willie. But from the first, Willie likes Milo best.

"MILO'S FIRST WORD WAS "WILLIE!"

Milo has Willie, and Father has his cows.

"I NEED SOMETHING OF MY OWN," SAYS NORA.

So when Father buys ten chicks and two young geese, Nora makes them her own, giving all of them names. The chicks and geese follow her everywhere she goes, and one Sunday morning, they even follow the whole family in their wagon to church. The minister only laughs and welcomes the family, poultry and all, and Susannah smiles to see Nora and her chicks at church.

But when the family goes home after church, they count and find that one of Nora's chicks is missing!

But before she can begin searching, a wagon comes rumbling along the road. In it are Susannah's mother and a smiling Susannah, with Nora's missing chick on her lap.

"I BROUGHT YOU THE LOST CHICK!" SAID SUSANNAH.

"NATASHA!" CRIED NORA.

NORA SMILED. "WHEN MY CHICKS HAVE CHICKS, I'LL GIVE YOU SOME," SAID NORA.

"THEN WE'LL BOTH HAVE CHICKS."

Nora's chicks indeed bring a new beginning and Nora's prairie becomes home in Patricia MacLachlan's latest, Nora's Chicks (Candlewick, 2013).  Newbery Medalist MacLachlan (for Sarah, Plain and Tall) returns to her theme of home and family in this simple and sweet story of how a brood of chicks changes Nora's mind about her new home. The charmingly old-fashioned illustrations by artist Kathryn Brown fit this homespun tale perfectly. As Publishers Weekly puts it, "Brown’s smudgy, windswept watercolors capture the starkness and beauty of the prairie and the simplicity of the life there... a lovely, affecting package.

Story of Pie! The Chicken Problem by Jennifer Oxley

THIS IS PEG.

SHE LOVES SOLVING PROBLEMS. SHE ALSO LOVES PIE.

THIS IS CAT.

HE LOVES HELPING PEG SOLVE PROBLEMS. HE LOVES PIE, TOO.

Peg and Cat are all set for a picnic. They have a guest–Pig–and they have pie.  Perfect!

But then the persnickety Peg notices that there is a tiny slice of pie left in the pan! Peg apparently doesn’t like a division problem that has a remainder.

"BIG PROBLEM!" SAID PEG.

PEG FELT SORRY FOR THAT POOR PIECE OF PIE JUST SITTING THERE, ALL ALONE, WITH NOBODY TO EAT IT. NOOOOOBODY!

Cat has a solution to this problem. He fetches a tiny chick from the coop and pairs him with the puny piece of pie. Everything comes out even. Perfect! NOW can they eat their pie?

But suddenly there’s a new factor in their math. The chickens are multiplying! Who can eat pie with poultry all over the picnic cloth and no more pie to proffer?

Apparently the coop was left unlatched! The three would-be picnickers begin chicken-chasing, but they only manage to reduce the numbers of loose chickens by a factor of ten. To sum it up, the three are stumped by this problem.

THERE ARE CHICKENS DASHING, CHICKENS SPLASHING, SKIPPING, FLIPPING....”

The chickens are even getting down with the Chicken Dance! Pig is freaked out, Peg is perplexed, but Cat is calculating, and he soon hits upon the ultimate solution in Jennifer Oxley’s The Chicken Problem (Random House, 2012). Rounding up rather than rounding off, he figures out a way to reduce the chicken population back to one and make the pie come out even for the picnickers after all. Chickens are the current comic favorites of picture book characters, and artist Billy Aronsen’s multiplying  chickens are the stars of this show. There is a bit of math in the page numbering and also here and there throughout the text, but it’s the poultry who are prime in this outing.

Herding Chickens: Marley: Not A Peep! by John Grogan and Susan Hill

"Marley, we're home!" Cassie said.

"We hatched chicks at school and I got to bring them home for the weekend!"

Cassie has hit the primary school jackpot. She has been chosen by her teacher as the responsible student designated to take care of the chicks over the weekend.

Cassie's teacher has taught her the drill, too. Carefully, she fills the chick's water dispenser inside their roomy cage and loads the feeder with chick food. So far, so good. Everything is shipshape, and the chicks are eating and peeping happily.

But then Cassie and her mom make their mistake. They set off for weekend activities, blithely leaving Marley behind with the supposedly secure chicks.

"I have a playdate," Cassie said. "You're in charge while I'm gone."

Marley looked at the chicks. He looked at Cassie. "WOOF!" he said.

But nobody looked at the latch on the cage.

Marley soon is curled up for a nap in the living room, but his lovely long snooze is abruptly interrupted.

"CHEEP!!"

A single black chick seems to have escaped. Then, suddenly, the room is filled with chicks, cheeping, hopping, pecking, even climbing all over Marley.

At first this impromptu playdate is exciting. Marley enjoys being the chicks' playground as they hop all over him and explore the furniture. But eventually the pup remembers Cassie's words. These chicks aren't supposed to be wandering all over the house, are they?

Marley knows this can't be good. He tries to herd the chicks back into their cage before Cassie comes back. He knows that somehow, he will be the one who gets the blame for the breakout. But the latch seems to be broken, and as soon as he gets one inside, the peeper pops right back out. Then he hears the car drive up to the house.

It looks like everyone's favorite golden Lab malefactor is caught red-pawed in the midst of mischief again, in Marley: Not a Peep! (I Can Read Book 2) (Harper, 2012), the latest in Harper's venerable I-Can-Read series. Pair this one with Marley: The Dog Who Cried Woof[ MARLEY: THE DOG WHO CRIED WOOF ] by Grogan, John (Author) Oct-11-11[ Paperback ] for a double-dog duo of easy readers.

Home Alone! All by Myself! by Geraldine Collet

When Mama left the chicken coop, she left me all by myself.

"What if they don't come home before it gets really dark?" worried Leonard.

Misery loves company, and at least Lily, Ivan, Shirley, and Leonard are all in the same boat, er, coop.

Being home alone is SCARY! What if their moms never come back? What do the chicks do?

Well, first they cry. That done, one resourceful chick suggests they strike out looking for their moms. Sensible Lily suggests that they wait until someone shows up to help. Leonard hears sinister sounds, and Disaster Lady Shirley responds with a dire possibility.

"And what if it's a fox who comes?"

One courageous chick dons a superhero cape and offers to leap out and scare away the fox, and a less daring peeper suggests a hiding place, but Crisis Queen Shirley is still not persuaded.

"I can't take it anymore!" shrieked Shirley.

But before panic totally takes possession of the coop, Ivan distracts the group with an ad lib game of "can't catch me." Just as the chicks are beginning to have fun, they hear something at the door of the coop.

Slowly it opens....

Being left on your own for the first time can be an alarming adventure, but all's well that ends well, with all the mamas back home, and with take-out, a surprise treat of grain, in Geraldine Collet's All by Myself! (Owlkids Books, 2012). A deft translation from the French by Sarah Quinn and charming illustrations by Coralie Saudo highlight each chick's particular personality as they come up with their own coping strategies in this engaging edition of the well-worked "where's Mama?" theme.

Kirkus gives this one a rare starred review, saying "Illustrations are full of quirky, mischievous touches sure to bring smiles... This superlatively cute look at the bond between mother and child takes a proud place next to Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson’s Owl Babies."

Swing Shift: Chicks Run Wild by Sudipta Bardhan-Quillen

PILLOWS FLUFFED UP BENEATH THEIR HEADS,

CHICKS ARE TUCKED BENEATH THE SHEETS.

"GO TO SLEEP, NOW" MAMA TWEETS.

It's a sweet nighttime scene in Mama's snug coop. With a loving kiss for each of her five little peeps, the lights go off and she closes the door. Ahhh! At last! her body language says.

All of us parents have been there. After a hard day of this and that, the little dears are at last tucked in, and a few hours of freedom beckon.

But Mama has counted her chickees all too soon.

As it happens, Mama is ready for their bedtime, but the five little peeps are not. As soon as she gets down the hall, bedlam erupts. The chicks jump on the beds, fill the air with fluff from their pillow fights, and generally have a rousing play time on the night shift.

Of course, their clandestine cavorting cannot go unnoticed. Mama is soon back at the door, wings on whatever passes for chicken hips, with her beak pressed tight in disapproval. At first she tries being firm. But as soon as she closes the door, the fun begins again. She tries threats; she delivers an ultimatum. Still the chicks won't stay in their beds.

But two can play at this game. After all, who's the adult around here? Mama can beat them at their own game, and bringing on the rockin' music, she joins them in the merriment, leading them in one wild--and seemingly unending--chicken dance! Soon their little chick tongues are handing out of their little beaks, and the young ones cave in.

THE CHICKS FALL TO THEIR KNEES.

MOANING "BEDTIME, MAMA, PLEASE!"

Sudipta Bardhan-Quillen's brand-new Chicks Run Wild (Simon & Schuster, 2011), with its rounded, big-eyed chicks looking more like Easter candies that anything, are filled with frolicsome and infectious energy, topped only when Mama gets down with a high-spirited chicken dance that has them all puffing to keep up. But in Ward Jenkins' effervescent illustrations, Mama gets the last laugh, as she finally settles down on the sofa for some post-bedtime "Mama-time," her TV show onscreen and her half-read book at hand, and some bright nail polish ready for a pedicure.

A non-bedtime bedtime story, this tale is best read for laughs during the day, because it certainly won't put anybody to sleep!

Groaner Alert! Chicken Butt's Back! by Erica S. Perl and Henry Cole

"HEY! DO YOU KNOW WHAT?"

"IN FACT, I DO. AND WHERE AND WHY AND HOW AND WHO."

"BUT MOM! I'LL MAKE THIS CRYSTAL CLEAR...."

"NO MORE "CHICKEN BUTT," MY DEAR."

That's what she thinks! Mom is no match for that inveterate punster she calls her son. In an exuberant sequel to their riotously irreverent (some say "cheeky") first book Chicken Butt! (Abrams), even an expedition to the grocery store gives our young wordplayer opportunity for more of his call-and response humor. Over and over Mom falls into his verbal trap as she absentmindedly tries to finish her shopping.

"WHICH BUTT?"

"WITCH BUTT!!!!"

With Henry Cole's familiar goofy, bug-eyed chickens and other comic critters appearing in sequence, it's a word-playground for Erica Perl's little pun-lover with his happy homophones and homonyms at the ready in her latest giggle-and-word-fest, Chicken Butt's Back! (Abrams, 2011)

Souper Chicken? Beautiful Yetta by Daniel Pinkwater

Yetta, beautiful Yetta, brave and clever, will not be soup.

She will not be roast chicken on Friday night.

She is free. She is in Brooklyn.

When Yetta flees Mr. Flegelman, chicken rancher, just as she is about to be delivered into an unpromising future at Phil's Poultry World, she finds herself in another world, the mean streets of Brooklyn--obviously outside the ordinary purview of organic poultry.

But Yetta is brave and clever, and after battling buses and repelling dangerous rats whose intentions clearly are not benign, she is even insulted by the portly pigeons she approaches in hopes of sisterly avian assistance:

"Go back to the farm, silly hen!"

Then Yetta's attention is diverted to an unfolding street drama before her. A strange little green bird is about to become the end product of a successful stalk by a dangerous-looking cat.

"GAY AHVEK, DU FAHRSHTUNKEHNEH KAHTZ!"
("Go away, you stinking cat!") Yetta yells.

The cat may or may not understand Yiddish, but it certainly gets the message, as a large, white bird, wings flapping and beak snapping, bears down on it.

The cat skedaddles and Yetta is a heroine! Eduardo, one of the famous wild parrots of Brooklyn, invites her back to join his flock and shares the tale of his heroic rescue.

"YO AMO ESTA GALLINA!" ("I love this beautiful chicken!") says Eduardo.

"POR FAVOR, QUEDATE CON NOSOTROS, GALLINA HERMOSA!" ("Please, stay with us, beautiful hen!") say the wild parrots.

Daniel Pinkwater's latest, Beautiful Yetta: The Yiddish Chicken (Feiwel & Friends, 2010), provides both a rousing tale of a hen who dodges becoming dinner and a group of environmental expatriates who find a common cause in survival in the big city. Yetta chases cats and Eduardo shows her how to procure the best pizza crusts, and the streets of Brooklyn are made safer for Yiddish hens and Hispanic parrots.

With speech bubbles in Yiddish and phonetic English for Yetta and in Spanish and phonetic English for the parrots, reading this one aloud is a picnic in the park (or a fiesta in Flatbush), one that lends itself to exuberant retellings. Long live Yetta, the Yiddish hen. You go, girl!

Somnolent Superhero: Chick 'n' Pug by Jennifer Sattler

CHICK HAD READ THE ADVENTURES OF WONDERPUG!

127 TIMES.

EVERY PAGE WAS FILLED WITH EXCITEMENT.

BUT THERE WAS NO EXCITEMENT IN THE CHICKEN COOP.

All the setting hens do is snooze on their nests. But inside Chick's tiny chest beats the heart of an adventurer, so without a backward look she sets forth into the wide world to find the excitement her little heart craves.

And what does Chick see but the very object of her hero worship. Can it be? It is a pug, wearing a striped dog sweater and a kerchief collar. It must be Wonderpug!

"WOW!" EVEN ASLEEP HE LOOKS WONDERFUL!"

But this pug is no wonder, unless you wonder how he can stay asleep through Chick's rapturous adulation. Even under her prodding he merely rolls over, scratches an itch, and falls back asleep. But nothing shakes Chick's belief that she has found her idol--one who can do no wrong. Even his persistent somnolence is proof of his superhero qualities:

HE MUST BE SAVING UP HIS ENERGY FOR HIS NEXT ADVENTURE!

And then there are footsteps coming nearer. An intruder? Will Wonderpug arise and vanquish the threat?

"OH, MR. SNUGGLES. YOU PLAY WITH PUGGLY WUGGLY!"

A woman drops a fat, sleepy cat, wearing a matching kerchief, down next to Wonderpug with a plop. Still the sleeping superhero doesn't stir. What's a fan to do in the face of such a fearful menace? Chick bravely steps into the breach with a loud "WOOF!"

Mr. Snuggles skedaddles presto.

"HMMF! MR. SNUGGLES DIDN'T COUNT ON WONDERPUG HAVING A SIDEKICK, DID HE?"

Jennifer Sattler's new Chick 'n' Pug (Bloomsbury, 2010) depends on her slyly humorous illustrations to put over her tale of a chick who pours all the power of her projected dreams upon the resolutely sleeping pug before her. Excitement is in the eye of the beholder here!

Coop de Grace: Bad Boys Get Henpecked by Margie Palatini

Those bad boys, Willy and Wally Wolf, were hungry.

Belly-babbling, tummy-talking, gut-grumbling hungry.

Yep. Those loopy lupines Willy and Wally Wolf are on the prowl again. This time they've got a yen for hen!

Disinclined to go chicken chasing, however, the two case the coop before the caper, ogling Mrs. Hen hard at work doing her daily chores. Obviously, this hen could use some handy help around the house, someone to kindly cope with her copious coopwork. Costuming themselves with rubber-glove coxcombs and fake beaks, voila! Willy and Wally are transformed into the Handy-Dandy Lupino Brothers, two capable capons at her service.

"Good gracious," clucked the hen. "That old rooster of mine has flown the coop and I could use some help around the house. But all I can offer to pay is mere chicken feed."

Willy winked at Wally, Wally winked at Willy.

"We work for cheep." drooled Willy.

But before they can make a move, Mrs. Hen hands them a bucket and mop, drops her apron, and with a cheery "Ta-ta!" and "Good luck!" this bird has flown.

The Lupino Bros. feel they have no choice but to fake it while they wait for their chicken dinner to check back in, grumpily working their way through the to-do list while keeping a wary eye on what seems like dozens of pesky, peeping chickies. By the time they get to the last item--"Sit on the nest"--that job is beginning to look pretty darned good to the two pooped predators.

But as the Lupinos lounge their way through sweet rest in the nest, the little peepers are up to no good, undoing all the boys' hard work, and when Mrs. Hen makes her return and sacks her lazy babysitters, the two bad boys have had about all they can take of fowl play. Postponing their finger-lickin' feast indefinitely, Willy and Wally wind up, as always, taking it on the lam and dining on a vegetarian dinner.

"I do believe I have lost my taste for chicken," said Willy.

In her latest in the Bad Boys series, Bad Boys Get Henpecked! (HarperCollins, 2009) Margie Palatini keeps the puns a-popping and the alliterations a-tumbling, while Henry Cole's hilarious illustrations of those carnivorous con men keep the action rolling right along. Previous tales of those would-be wily wolf brothers are Bad Boys and Bad Boys Get Cookie!

Hen Haven: Squawking Matilda by Lisa Horstman

One day Mae received a note from Aunt Susan.

"Dear Mae,

How's my favorite niece? (Mae giggled at this joke; she was Aunt Susan's only niece.) I have a special job for you. I know how you love projects.

One of my chickens doesn't like it on my farm. Maybe she would like it better on yours."

Mae loves projects. She's just finished an elaborate litterbox cover to provide toileting privacy for her cat, Cat. But when Matilda the hen arrives, Mae is impressed by her beauty but dismayed by the persnickety personality of her new poultry pet. Feeding her and cleaning out her stinky, stinky coop cuts into Mae's project time considerably, and when Mae is distracted by designing sweaters to keep the cows' udders warm and building a clubhouse for socializing sheep, Matilda begins to languish from neglect, finally losing almost all her feathers.

Mae is appalled by her naked charge. What will Aunt Susan think when she comes for her annual visit? Mae gathers up the feathers and tries gluing them to Matilda's skin. But Matilda just squawks in exasperation and pulls the feathers off as fast as Mae can replace them. Mae stops to think.

"I need to find a better way to keep you warm!"

"Aha!" yelled Mae. Using leftover scraps from other projects., she made something special for Matilda--a chicken jacket!

And it seems it was the lack of style that was causing Matilda's decline. Dressed in an elegant chicken jacket, decorated with clinking coins and shells and charms, (and provided with a fresh food and a clean coop daily by the penitent Mae), Matilda begins to thrive. Her feathers begin to grow luxuriously as she struts by the less fashionable hens on the farm, and Mae is sure Aunt Susan will be impressed.

But by the time Aunt Susan's long awaited visit comes round, Matilda is nowhere to be found. Mae and Aunt Susan anxiously follow a trail of the shredded scraps of that beautiful chicken jacket, while Cat trails along, looking resolutely innocent. And then, at the end of the trail they find her.

Squawking Matilda is now laying Matilda, sitting proudly on her own tidy nest, snugly padded with bits and pieces of that wonderful jacket, and filled with newly-laid eggs.

Lisa Horstman's high-style illustrations for her newest project, Squawking Matilda, (Marshall Cavendish, 2009) are an admirable amalgam of old and new. Mixed media include the use of original puppets, heads and hands sculpted from polymer clay, dressed in hand-sewn or knitted costumes, and digitally colorized and posed against painted backgrounds.

A fellow Knoxvillian, Horstman has several handsome picture books rooted in our local Smoky Mountain setting, including the glowingly illustrated The Great Smoky Mountain Salamander Ball, The Smokies Yukky Book (with naturalist Doris Gove), and The Troublesome Cub in the Great Smoky Mountains.

A trailer for Squawking Matilda can be seen here.