Brave Chicken Little

Starred review from May 5, 2014
Byrd’s rewrite of the Chicken Little story is a distinct improvement on traditional versions that see Foxy Loxy triumph; Byrd (Electric Ben!) lets Chicken Little defeat him. The story is set in a countryside lined with stone walls and shaded by green trees, and the animals are dressed in 18th-century cravats and waistcoats, finery that looks particularly good on the stout Piggy Wiggy and the mole twins, Roly and Poly Moley. Lured by Foxy Loxy into the cellar with the rest of the sky-is-falling gang, Chicken Little escapes through a tiny window and gives Foxy Loxy a fright of his own, smacking him and his family on the head with apples. “Oh me, oh my!” Foxy Loxy cries, “I’ve just been hit by a piece of the sky!” (He always speaks in verse.) In pen-and-ink spreads drawn with a sense of lyricism pleasantly at odds with the slapstick prose, Byrd outlines every leaf, feather, and blade of grass, and pays careful attention to light and shadow, washing the dirt paths with the gold of the afternoon sun and tracing the long shadows as it sets. Ages 4–up.

June 15, 2014
Byrd retells the familiar tale of folly and trickery, adding some outsize bravery and a happy ending.Off on an errand for his mother, Chicken Little gets bonked by an acorn. "The sky is falling! I must go and tell the king!" The misguided chick encounters an increasing stream of equally foolish, frightened animals, from Henny Penny to Roly and Poly Moley. The menagerie of 10 encounters Foxy Loxy, who, speaking in sly rhymes, diverts them. "Oh, please, please, let me come, too! I know the best way, I do! I do!...But first, my dear friends, we'll stop for brunch, or maybe instead, a nice little lunch." Foxy lures the group to his cottage, where his wife and seven hungry kits wait near a steaming, but not yet boiling, cauldron. When Foxy locks the hapless stew ingredients in the basement, it's Chicken Little who figures out an escape and outfoxes the fox. Byrd's charming ink-and-watercolor illustrations depict the animals in old-fashioned clothing with flounces, vests and cravats. Crosshatching and intricate lines define each leaf, butterfly, bee and flower against the lush, pastoral backdrop of woods and rolling hills. The parade of fleeing animals runs right past the king's long shadow at sunset. Safely tucked under a quilt by his mother, Chicken Little's too exhausted to utter a word about his errant bravery.A handsome, most welcome addition to the now-sadly neglected, too-little-published literature of folk and fairy tales. (Picture book/folk tale. 4-7)

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June 1, 2014

K-Gr 2-Byrd reimagines this classic folktale through a beautifully painted landscape and a story line that begins with Chicken Little heading off to the market to buy honey, flour, and milk with strict instructions not to "dillydally." When a pesky acorn to the noggin leads him to believe the sky is falling, he enlists the help of a hilariously named cast of characters, including the famous Henny Penny, as well as the lesser-known Froggy Wogg and Roly and Poly Moley, to warn the king. They are soon duped by a fox and locked in his cellar. Spurred by the impending doom of being served for dinner, they find an escape route, and Chicken Little saves the day by pelting the fox with apples, turning Foxy Loxy into the fool who believes the sky is falling. His mother finds his return home without any baking supplies puzzling, and Chicken Little falls into bed to dream of "baking cakes, ferocious foxes, majestic kings, giant acorns, and falling apples." While the artwork perfectly fits the timeless nature of this familiar story, Byrd's adaptation adds little nuance or humor, making it hard to imagine much appeal for young readers. Collections with large folktale sections can certainly add it with confidence, but versions like Rebecca and Ed Emberleys' Chicken Little (Roaring Brook, 2009) or Keith Graves's Chicken Big (Chronicle, 2010) are more likely to resonate with a new generation of readers.-Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2014
Preschool-G *Starred Review* There are many versions of Chicken Littlesometimes the main character even has another name, like Henny Pennybut the outline is the same. An acorn hits Chicken Little on the head. His conclusion? The sky is falling, and he had better hurry and tell the king. His friendsincluding Turkey Lurkey and Goosey Lucy, are joined here by Natty Ratty and Piggy Wiggyfollow along until they meet a fox. Byrd (Electric Ben, 2012) says the tale's ending has bothered him since childhood (he must have read the version where Foxy Loxy has the troop for dinner), and he sets out to put things right. In the process, he has created a delightful offering that kids will, well, gobble up. This Chicken Little is small but clever, and once he escapes from Foxy Loxy's cellar, he turns the tables on Foxy and his family and frees his friends. The story is neatly told, but it is the verdant watercolor-and-ink artwork, featuring intricate cross-hatching, that shines. So much attention and detail has been lavished on each flora-and-fauna-enhanced spread that children will want repeat viewings. That will give them more time to catch the humor that can be broad (Chicken Little's cellar escape) or subtle (the range of expressions on the animals' faces). The meeting between Chicken Little et al. and the Fox family is especially delicious: curiosity and anxiety meet hunger and anticipation. Choice!(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2015
Bopped on the head by an acorn, this Chicken Little does rush off to tell the king that "the sky is falling." However, once Foxy Loxy has locked the whole crowd (Froggy Woggy, Natty Ratty, etc.) in his cellar, our chick turns clever hero. Byrd, much abetted by his elegantly detailed illustrations, upends both the classic tale's conventions and its cautionary message.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2014
The chick is not just a witless wonder in this expansion of the familiar folktale. Bopped on the head by an acorn, this Chicken Little does rush off to tell the king that "the sky is falling," joined as usual by other barnyard fowl. However, the numbers are doubled here by the likes of Natty Ratty, Froggy Woggy, and Roly and Poly Moley. Once Foxy Loxy has locked the whole crowd in his cellar, our chick turns clever hero, rallying the other animals to help him escape so he can then free them. Then, realizing his initial misapprehension, he turns the tables: he drops apples on the fox, who runs off with his own foolish warning for the king. Thus Byrd upends both the classic tale's conventions and its cautionary message; still, his revision works as an underdog-makes-good story, much abetted by his elegantly detailed illustrations. The lively action is undertaken by comical yet delicately limned creatures in fabulous ancien regime attire and a bucolic setting alive with animated trees and multitudes of insects and flora. With Chicken Little learning his lesson, this is an entertaining variant; it's also one further from the earthy nature of the tale's animal prototypes, a difference highlighted at the end when Mrs. Chicken Licken (like Peter Rabbit's mother) tucks her weary and wiser son into his cozy, well-appointed bed. joanna rudge long

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)