Chicken Story Time

by Sandy Asher, Mark Fearing (Illustrator)

Overview

 A wonderfully silly take on library story time that’s perfect for children, chickens, and everyone in between
 
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to story time at the library, of course!  The children like the chicken, the chicken likes the children, and everyone loves story time. So it’s no surprise that more children (and more chickens!) get in on the fun until there are more kids and critters than the librarian knows what to do with. Luckily, she comes up with a creative solution and manages to find little R & R for herself.
 
Fans of Bats in the Library and Library Lion will fall in love and story time will never be the same!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735227538
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	12/13/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Sandy Asher is an author, poet, and playwright.  She has written over 25 books for young readers, including the award-winning Too Many Frogs! She lives in Lancaster, PA with her husband.  
 
Mark Fearing is an illustrator with many children’s book to his credit, including Dilly Dally Daisy and How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans. He currently works across multiple mediums and loves to tell stories using his illustrations. He lives in Portland, OR.

Editorial Reviews

10/10/2016
Children will know that they are in for some poultry-themed hijinks from the first page of this off-kilter story, as a chicken spots a poster for “story time at the library.” As kids stream into the library, the chicken gives readers a knowing glance—she’s ready to make her move. She’s friendly (“The children like the chicken. The chicken likes the children”), well-behaved, and attentive, so the librarian is chill about it (after all, “everyone loves story time”). But as chickens and kids show up in ever-larger numbers (one chicken even slips in through the book return slot), crowd control becomes difficult and proper library behavior goes out the window. What’s a librarian to do? Asher’s (Here Comes Gosling!) poker-faced, repeating text (“One library. One story. Many children. Many chickens”) offers the perfect setup for Fearing’s wonderfully silly and well-choreographed cartooning, which proves that children and chickens are equally skilled at creating chaos. And the resolution points to another advantage of becoming a reader: you can lead a cross-species story time yourself. Ages 3–5. Illustrator’s agent: Sean McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Literary. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Chicken Story Time:
"This book may make free-range storytimes de rigueur." —Kirkus Reviews

"Asher’s poker-faced, repeating text...offers the perfect setup for Fearing’s wonderfully silly and well-choreographed cartooning." —Publishers Weekly

"Children will flock to hear this raucous read-aloud." —School Library Journal

"A pleasure for reading aloud, with or without chickens." — Booklist

From the Publisher

11/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—Everyone looks forward to the storytime program at the public library. One week, a chicken comes in through the window and joins the entourage of children as they gather around the librarian to hear a story, and a good time is had by all. The next week, a larger crowd of children attend, along with a whole flock of chickens. The session is a bit hectic but is nonetheless a big hit. The following week, there are so many children, and so many chickens, that the beleaguered librarian can't be heard over the din, even with a bullhorn. How can they possibly conduct a storytime? Suddenly, a solution occurs to her—she hands out "shelves and shelves of stories" to the children, and they spread out all over the building, each conducting mini-storytimes, reading to the chickens. The vibrant cartoon art captures the suburban library setting with a mix of full-bleed spreads, sequential panels, and increasingly busy (and noisy) scenes. The simple, large-font, cumulative text reinforces several recurring elements (children, chickens, stories) and features the refrain, "Everyone loves storytime." With this engaging, bibliocentric answer to the proverbial question of why the chicken crossed the road, librarians and teachers can introduce the idea of library programming in a lively and humorous way. VERDICT Children will flock to hear this raucous read-aloud.—Luann Toth, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2016-08-17
One chicken at storytime might be fun, but more than one….“Story time at the library. // One librarian. One story. Children. / And a chicken. // The children like the chicken. The chicken likes the children. / ‘Let’s begin,’ says the librarian. Everyone loves story time.” The next week, though there is still just one librarian (a white woman with huge, round glasses) and one story, there are both more children and more chickens (both diverse in color and race/breed). The crowd is a bit unruly, but the librarian gets them seated, and everyone has a wonderful time. The next week, however, there are many children and flocks of chickens. The librarian can’t be heard over the clucking din and the laughter. Then she has a brilliant idea: have each child read a different story to several chickens…and everyone loves storytime again (including the librarian, who gets to put her feet up and have tea). Asher’s not-quite-cumulative tale of a poultry invasion of the public library told in simple declarative sentences will have little listeners wishing for more farm fowl at their libraries. Fearing’s part-traditional, part-digital illustrations are a mix of full- and double-page spreads and comics-style panels (some without words) that assist in the telling of the tale. Chicken shenanigans (they pop out of the book drop, use computers, and balance books on their heads) as well as their expressions add to the mayhem and enjoyment. This book may make free-range storytimes de rigueur. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews