Blue Chicken

by Deborah Freedman

Overview

A mind-bendingly clever farmyard romp

In this deceptively simple picture book, author-illustrator Deborah Freedman has created an irresistible character that springs to life and wreaks havoc in a farmyard with a pot of blue paint. The innocent chicken just wants to help, but things get worse and worse - and bluer and bluer - the more she tries. Playing with colors and perspective, and using minimal text, this richly layered story reveals new things to see and laugh about with each reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101587935
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/15/2011
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	33 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Deborah Freedman (www.deborahfreedman.net) lives in Hamden, Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

Raves for Blue Chicken:

"Breathtakingly beautiful meta-illustrations will draw many eyes to this tale of a curious chicken who spills some paint... Delicate and durable, visually sophisticated yet friendly: simply exquisite." —Kirkus, starred review

"Full of surprise and emotion... The book has much to pore over on every page, and children will want to experience the action over and over again." —School Library Journal, starred review

"The spare, poetic text allows the images to shine... this delightful treat emphasizes the joy of breaking free of conventional boundaries and turning accidents into art." —Booklist, starred review

"While the artist is away, the chickens will indeed play, and Deborah Freedman has captured their antics in this book overflowing with joyful fun." —BookPage

"... all will appreciate the sheer joy of a book that celebrates color and innocent mischief." —Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

Breathtakingly beautiful meta-illustrations will draw many eyes to this tale of a curious chicken who spills some paint.

"This picture is almost finished," narrates an unseen artist whose life-size pencil and brush lie across a barnyard drawing with cow, chicken coop and wheelbarrow softly shaded and colored but a barn only outlined. "[T]his day is perfect for painting the barn. / But wait. Does one of the chickens want to help?" A small white chicken patters out from the coop onto the blank white background, climbing up onto the edge of a paint pot—and tipping it over. Blue paint flows down the page, splattering on finished and unfinished bits of the original picture. It floods onto pansies, chicks and the cow, whose "moo wakes the chickens. They're peevish and blue." Irritated blue chickens give chase across now all-blue spreads; the original chicken who "just wanted to... / HELP!" is intimidated and "[s]incerely sorry." Watercolor washes and splashes, from pale blue to dark, create wonderful, wet patterns; their liquid edges contrast alluringly with fine pencil lines and shadings. Resourcefully, the chicken tips out the artist's brush-rinsing water jar, drenching and cleansing this world back into neatness. But is that the artist at the end, painting a real barn outdoors while something hilarious happens indoors in her studio?

Delicate and durable, visually sophisticated yet friendly: simply exquisite. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews