School Library Journal Review
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 (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
