  | Full Text Reviews: Bulletin for the Center... - 11/01/2006 The Greenstalk farm is blessed with some seriously civic-minded poultry. On Monday, when Mr. Greenstalk drops his watch down the well, it’s “Chickens to the rescue!”, arranging a down-the-well plunge and watch retrieval; on Tuesday, Mrs. Greenstalk is too tired to make dinner, so it’s “Chickens to the rescue!”, fluttering through the kitchen, flailing through the fridge, and frying up a tasty meal (not chicken) for the lady. Each day of the week, chicken intervention saves situations ranging from dog-eaten homework to lost sheep, until Sunday, when the chickens take a rest (though it looks like the pigs are aiming to substitute). Though the plot doesn’t build much before its final pivot, the array of emergencies dives happily into the absurd (the duck drives off in the truck, a strong wind blows the cow up into the tree), and it’s comic that the family becomes so accustomed to the chicken intervention that there’s indignation when the flock doesn’t appear. The real energy comes from the pencil-and-watercolor illustrations, featuring a couple dozen unlikely poultry heroines who perform their maneuvers with a flurry of feathers, a helpful range of accoutrements, and a considerable amount of exertion—no smooth action chickens, these. Use this to repair barnyard reputations besmirched by Doreen Cronin’s Click, Clack, Moo (BCCB 9/00), or just to introduce an enjoyably weird kind of hero. DS - Copyright 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. School Library Journal - 10/01/2006 PreS-Gr 2-At the Greenstalk Farm, it's no problem if the sheep get lost, the farmer drops his watch down the well, the dog eats young Jeffrey's book report, the cow gets stuck in a tree, the duck steals the truck, or Mrs. Greenstalk is too tired to cook. It's "Chickens to the rescue!" Unless it's Sunday when they get some hard-earned rest and the pigs step in to help out. This rollicking story, made up of simple statements in a specific pattern, follows the fowls' heroics Monday through Sunday. The simplicity of the text allows the sheer brilliance of the colored-pencil and watercolor illustrations to shine through. The details in each rescue scene will have everyone laughing and noting the expressions of the animals, their crazy but appropriate outfits, and their amazing abilities. Pair this hilarious story with Doreen Cronin's Click, Clack, Moo (S & S, 2000) and David Shannon's Duck on a Bike (Scholastic, 2002) for a lively storytime about extraordinary farm animals.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2006 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 11/01/2006 OK, it’s a one-joke book, but in Himmelman’s presentation, the joke gets funnier each time you turn the page. On Monday, Farmer Greenstalk drops his watch down the well . . . Chickens to the rescue! The two-page spread features a flock in a flurry. They’re wearing bathing caps, or flippers, or goggles. They’re flying into each other and diving down in the well. Those are some chickens, the farmer says as he holds his wet watch. Each family member gets chicken aid. When Mom’s too tired to cook dinner, the chickens don chef’s hats, flip bacon, stir soup, brandish knives, and generally stir up the kitchen. After the chickens help the humans, they move on to the animals, rescuing the duck, who drives off with the farmer’s car, and herding the sheep, who are running amok. The fun here comes from all the frenzy in the pictures, and it will take kids more than one look to see all the silliness. They’ll enjoy that second and third glance. - Copyright 2006 Booklist. Loading...
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