The enthusiastic and unmannerly chicken in David Ezra Stein's Interrupting Chicken keeps making promises that need to be broken. Every time her dad starts a story, she breaks in and stops the disaster that is at the heart of traditional fairy tales. Finally she takes over the storytelling herself, and goodnaturedly discovers that her father can also listen incorrectly.This Cybils Fiction Picture Book finalist actually led to some interesting discussions with my kids, who both enjoyed it. I pretended to be shocked at the chicken's rudeness and reckless vow breaking, but my kids pointed out that it is ethically sound to break a minor promise to save a life. If interrupting can prevent the kidnapping of Hansel and Gretel, then by gosh, one should interrupt. The pictures are vibrant and fun, with clear distinctions between the home life of the chickens and the greyer tones of their story books. B+
I think the link benefits the Cybils committee.
2 comments:
How old are your kids? I found that mine (3 and almost 6) had trouble following this story, due to all the interruptions. But it could just be genetic - the format was not ideal for me, either!
Mine are old -- 9 and 12. But we are an interrupting kind of family, so they'd probably have gotten it from fairly young. It bugs my BIL, so I really channeled him while reading out loud.
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