Review by Booklist Review
No longer satisfied with her cozy coop, Louise the chicken sets off in search of adventure. In three distinct chapters, she finds it: on a pirate ship, where she's nearly stewed with dumplings until a storm drowns her crew; at the circus, where she plunges from the high-wire and escapes a lion's jaws; and at a fabulous bazaar, where a fortune-teller's warning to beware a dark stranger leads to terrifying imprisonment and escape. After each foray into the world, Louise returns to the safety of her farm, until wanderlust hits again. In the final chapter, though, she stays home and shares her tales with the other chickens, who, just by listening, become travelers, too. The episodic pacing is abrupt, but the narrative filled with rhythmic, repetitive phrases ( the deep and dreamless sleep of the true adventurer is an appealing refrain) will read aloud well to a crowd, who will also enjoy Bliss' illustrations, in which bright-white Louise stands out against humorous, action-filled scenes. The message about the transporting power of stories deepens this enjoyable, farcical adventure.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Rosenblat turns in a tour-de-force performance as she creates the voices of chickens, a drowning pirate, nefarious merchants, and others in this read-along about an audacious chicken with wanderlust. Chafing at farmyard boredom, Louise sets out to see the world and discovers that it is a dangerous place filled with those who would (gasp!) eat a chicken. Clever sound effects, sprightly original music, and superb pacing that allows plenty of time to "read" Bliss's droll illustrations round out this 2010 Odyssey Award winner. Standard: Students will be able to discuss specific details of a narrative plot, including how humor is used in a story. Learning Activity: A follow-up writing activity offers a chance to create an adventure for Louise, choosing a different location such as a train, a mountaintop, a summertime fair, etc. (c) Copyright 2011. 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, Intermediate) Barnyard hen Louise longs for adventure; as chapter one opens, she has gone to sea, where she is almost immediately captured by pirates and barely escapes being fricasseed, thanks to a fortuitous storm. Back at the farm, she deflects the interest of the other chickens and sleeps "the deep and dreamless sleep of the true adventurer." Chapter two, however, sees Louise off again, this time to the circus, where she cleverly escapes from a hungry lion; safe at home, she once more ignores her friends' questions about her exploits. In chapter three, she heads to the mysterious East, where, having been kidnapped at a bazaar, she manages to free herself and her fellow prisoners. This time, when she returns home, Louise finally shares her stories of adventure, and the book ends with the entire henhouse content, all sleeping that "deep and dreamless" sleep. Louise's adventures are exciting (and often funny), and each is dramatically captured in Bliss's sweeping watercolors, which are distinctly his own yet manage to pay homage to such diverse entities as the Dutch masters and The African Queen. But what sets the book apart is DiCamillo's masterful storytelling, with exquisite pacing, compelling language, and just the right amount of repetition. Despite such crowd-pleasing elements, the story is best suited to more sophisticated picture book consumers, for its true message is not the thrill of adventure but the fulfillment found in the sharing of stories. 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.
