Chicken Big

by Keith Graves

Overview

On a teeny little farm, in an itty-bitty coop, a very small hen laid a big, giant egg. And out of this egg came one big, humongous . . . something. "It's big!" clucked the little rooster. "It's enormous!" clucked the small chicken. "It's anelephant!" peeped the smallest chicken. "Run for your lives!" they cried. No matter how they try, these clueless chickens can't make sense of the gigantic new member of their familyuntil he saves the day. With wacky, laugh-out-loud humor and silliness to spare, this BIG twist on the classic Chicken Little story lends a whole new perspective to what it means to be chicken.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452103846
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	07/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
Lexile:	AD570L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Keith Graves is Professor Emeritus at the Chicken School in Austin, Texas, where he teaches courses in chicken history. Strangely, he has the same name as another guy who wrote the book Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance, as well as some other ridiculous books, but we doubt he's the same guy.

Editorial Reviews

Compared to panicky Chicken Little, Chicken Big is unflappable. Born "on a teeny little farm, in an itty-bitty coop," this newborn towers over four fellow chickens, who decide he must be an elephant (his stature recalls the "Hyde and Go Tweet" Merrie Melodies cartoon featuring Tweety and Sylvester). When something drops on the smallest hen, she yelps, "The sky is falling!" Chicken Big calmly says, "It's only an acorn. They're actually quite tasty." He is equally placid and helpful when the ditsy chickens freak out over the rain and wind, revising their guesses about his identity--"Apparently, he is an umbrella!" When a fox steals their eggs and Chicken Big foils the crime, they finally figure it out: "Only one thing could be so smart, so kind, so warm, and so brave." Graves (Desert Rose and Her Highfalutin Hog) renders his fowl in a palette of gray-blue, taupe, and wheat yellow, with exuberant voice bubbles that highlight the ridiculousness of the smaller chickens' assertions. Graves has great fun at their expense--preserving the message that fools jump to hasty conclusions--and kids will, too. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 2—The pint-size poultry are as brainless as ever in this quirky revision of the classic "Chicken Little" tale, but the hero here is mysterious Chicken Big. Is he an elephant? The smaller chickens are sure that he could not be one of them and exclude him from the coop. When an acorn falls on the smallest one's head, she thinks the sky is falling. But when clear-headed Chicken Big explains what it is and pops it into his mouth, the other chickens decide that he must really be a squirrel. Chicken Big's unwilling companions arrive at one ridiculous conclusion after another. He protects them from the rain, so he could be an umbrella. He keeps them warm in a cold breeze, so he could be a sweater. When all the eggs go missing and Chicken Big saves the day, the others realize that "only one thing could be so smart, so kind, so warm, and so brave." (A chicken, of course.) Graves's pastel-hued illustrations with comic-style panels have a spontaneous and quirky quality reminiscent of Mo Willems's Pigeon and Leonardo books, and thoughtful design plays up the disproportionate size of Chicken Big. An amusing tale that will draw giggles from preschool and early elementary read-aloud audiences, this is a fun addition to any collection or comparative folklore unit.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI

School Library Journal

"On a teeny little farm, in an itty-bitty coop, a very small hen laid a big, humongous egg"—and, of course, out of that egg hatches a big, humongous chick. He is so big (he looks like a giant yellow pear with a yellow bowl cut looming over the other barnyard fowl) none of the other chickens knows quite what he is. "It's an elephant!" surmises the dimwitted smallest chicken. When an acorn falls and bonks her on the head, she begins the whole sky-is-falling shtick. Chicken Big reassures the panicking chickens—"It's only an acorn. They're actually quite tasty"—and is promptly relabeled a squirrel. Graves rings the changes on the atmospheric woes that might confuse a chicken, causing Chicken Big to go through numerous incarnations: Next he's an umbrella, then a sweater ("This is getting ridiculous," he thinks). The illustrations maximize the goof factor inherent in Chicken Big's babyish colossalness next to the tiny adult chickens, and they incorporate speech bubbles and some sequential panels to advance the foolery. For all kids who know they are really smarter than the grown-ups. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews