Review by Booklist Review
It would be hard to find a book cornier than this. O'Malley has found plenty of jokes about corn, fowl, and eggs to trim this tale of a chicken who dreams of cracked corn and follows that dream to a pig's barn, where he believes some to be hidden. Along the way, the chicken and a pal cross the road, avoid a pastry shop (eggs are beaten there), and ultimately resign themselves to the fact the trip isn't all it was cracked up to be. But then they come up with a new way to find corn (other than in the humor). The fun is divided between the truly terrible jokes (best gotten by a crowd slightly older than the preschool set) and the eye-popping artwork executed in ink with PhotoShop used for placing color. Much of the art has the look of woodcuts, with an appealing heft and depth to it; but throughout, the stars are the goofy looking chickens who continue their intrepid travels even though the timing is bad: It's fry-day.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The title of this cornball book offers a clue that a wealth of puns will be contained within, and O'Malley (Slugs in Love) doesn't miss a trick. Just about every pun imaginable about corn or chickens can be found in this story about Chicken's search for a buried treasure of cracked corn. When he tells his friend George about the great pink pig under which he believes the treasure is buried, George responds, "What are you-a comedi-hen?" George gets most of the book's one-liners, but O'Malley's watercolor and ink illustrations provide at least half of the fun. The expressions on the characters' faces are priceless, as when Chicken and George unexcitedly wait for the stoplight to change as the narrator says, "How did the chickens cross the road? you ask. They crossed at the light." Chicken dances across the book jacket with corncob Rockettes, and even the barnyard horse grins at his own silly joke. "I guess this trip was a waste," says George. "Because it wasn't all it was cracked up to be." O'Malley's verbal hijinks and rib-tickling artwork will provide readers with "egg-stremely egg-ceptional" giggles. Ages 5-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-Fans of corny humor and "punny yolks" will welcome this tale. When Chicken dreams of buried corn, he and his friend George set off to find the stash. As they search, they crack jokes and trade puns. Eventually, the hunt leads them back home where the treasure is in their own backyard. The narrative could be read straight through since it is written in small type and the jokes are in balloons; however, it often takes a backseat to the chickens' dialogue. The unique illustrations are a combination of pen, ink, and Photoshop. The dark intensity of the full-page artwork is highlighted by a white border on each page. Black cross-hatching creates an interesting texture in the nighttime scenes. Although the corn is called "cracked corn," the pictures are all ears. O'Malley includes a disclaimer, explaining that ears were visually more interesting. The juxtaposition of the narrative and the comic routine makes this more appropriate for independent reading than for storytimes.-Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) O'Malley's latest gives young readers chickens, pigs, corn, eggs, and all manner of wordplay and puns (both fair and fowl) in this wacky quest. One night, Chicken dreams of a barn with a buried treasure: all the cracked corn that any chicken could ever want. Though his best friend George, the Rooster, is certain that Chicken is yolking, he decides to join him on the adventure of a lifetime. Even though it's Fry-day, they cross the road; escape from a cat and a hawk; and finally, "when the sunny side came up, they found the beautiful barn -- home of the great pink pig." The adventure continues, but suffice it to say that this corny story will tickle many a funny bone, eggsactly its intention. Elegantly bucolic and ironically decorous pen-and-watercolor illustrations add to the lunacy, beginning right on the jacket with a chorus line featuring Chicken and four sure-footed ears of corn; conversation balloons show the characters cracking jokes at will. And that's not just chicken feed. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Cornball comedy guaranteed to pun-ish your funny bone. One night Chicken has a dream about a treasure of cracked corn buried under a great pink pig. He tells his friend George, who says, "You must be yolking!," but the next day they set off to find the barn. Even though it's "Fry-Day," they dare to cross the road and escape a cat and a hawk attack. They travel all night and when the sunny side comes up, they find the barn and the great pink pig who asks why they want the corn. "Because it's what chickens grow on," says George. The pig replies, "I thought they grew on egg-plants." O'Malley hatches every fowl joke and riddle and then some. His deep-black-ink line illustrations with scanned-in color scratch in an etching-like texture and are egg-ceedingly entertaining. Details in the drawings play off the balloon dialogue, e.g., a bakery sign advertises "Coop Cakes." Scramble together bits of the comic cartoon picture books by M.J. Auch with pieces of the egg-zagerated humor of the movie Chicken Run and season with the wacky wit of Doreen Cronin and you have a frittata of fun. (Picture book. 5-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
