When I see a book that has a familiar title (Little Red Riding Hood, Chicken Little, Goldilocks) but with a twist (Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale for example) you tend to assume that there will be a core story behind it. And yes, Sam Wedelich does not disappoint. We have one little chicken (but don’t call her that, she is petite). We have a head bonk and we have chickens running around like chickens tend to. The difference here is, this is not Chicken Little flying off the handle, but the other chickens who have some birdbrained ideas of what is going on as they really do not listen.
This time this is a book about word choices and listening to all of what is being said, not just what you want to hear. The adult can take this to mean a deeper meaning that what is on the surface, but the child reader will learn just stop, think and do not get too ahead of yourself. They will also see how to do a scientific study of what the actual thing that did the bonking could have been. The humor will be appreciated by the adult (Chicken Little has a “suspicious about the sky” conversation with the sky) and the kids will just like seeing the situations Chicken Little gets herself into (usually with the less-than-helpful-help from the other chickens).
The art is basic lines and little details, but there is detail when needed and some which is subtle, therefore, the adult will appreciate that (again, thinking of the sky images). You can judge this book by its cover for the art, but not the story. There is a little more than falling skies and a chicken running a-cluck. (And I see a Chicken Little and the Big Bad Wolf due to come about in January 2021).
