Synopsis
Mocked and called Silly Chicken Chicken by her flock for being different, Little Chicken Chicken proves them wrong when she is able to stand in the face of fear during a thunderstorm that has sent everyone else scurrying around in a panic.
Reviews
PreSchool-K?The other chickens in the barnyard laugh at Little Chicken Chicken's overactive imagination. She saves a piece of string for a tightrope and declares that black pebbles have fallen from a thunder cloud. Attitudes change during a storm, however. Little Chicken Chicken's acrobatics, juggling, and tightrope tricks divert the others' attention and calm their panic. Afterwards, they are eager to follow her on her next imaginative quest. Heap's watercolor renditions of barnyard life strike the correct humorous note, and her chickens' expressions convey emotions. The illustrations are clear and bright enough for sharing with small groups. A satisfying testimony to the value of individuality and imagination.?Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Unlike Chicken Little, this story's title character doesn't worry about the sky falling. All the same, Little Chicken Chicken has an overactive imagination. Other chickens make fun of her for calling a string a tightrope and pretending that some black rocks "fell out of a thundercloud... that's why they're so dark." After her juggling and playful antics distract her coop-mates from a frightening thunderstorm, however, her talents are finally appreciated. Martin, author of the Lizzie series, earnestly encourages readers who dare to be different; still, neither Little Chicken Chicken's uninspired name nor her "thunderstorm circus" conjures real excitement. Heap's (Mouse Party) stylized chickens-watercolored in ochre, rusty brown and gray against aqua-green grass-are seen only in flat profile. Their simply drawn shapes, smiling beaks and large, un-birdlike eyes make them suitable for kitchen decorations-but such conventional illustrations just don't add up to an unconventional character. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Martin (Bring the Children, 1992, etc.) creates a spunky little fowl with big ideas; a circus is her answer to a scary storm in this ebullient work. Little Chicken Chicken is often teased about her moments of make-believe by the other chickens in the coop. For her, a small string becomes a tightrope, dark stones ``fell out of a thundercloud,'' and a glass bead is a piece of lightning. But when a real storm threatens the coop, Little Chicken Chicken uses her found treasures to perform in a Thunderstorm Circus, calming everyone down. By storm's end, she is a star and an inspiration to all. Heap's bug-eyed chickens have been affectionately drawn, and thoroughly enliven a work that celebrates the power of imagination. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Ages 4^-6. Little Chicken Chicken sees things in her own special way. She's convinced that the two black stones she has found have fallen out of a thundercloud and that a piece of string is a tightrope. Because the others tease her, she doesn't tell anyone about the sparkling glass bead she discovers. When a fierce thunderstorm frightens all the chickens, Little Chicken Chicken climbs her tightrope and juggles her thunderstones and the sparkling glass bead, which is her flash of lightning. The chickens cheer her on and soon forget their fears. Comical cartoon illustrations add color and humor, and the satisfying ending, which leaves the teasers scurrying for their own lightning and thunderstones, tells readers that it's OK to think differently and that imagination is a valued, enviable quality. Lauren Peterson
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