The Plot Chickens

by Mary Jane Auch

Overview

Henrietta loves to read. When she clucks buk, buk, buk at the library, the librarian knows exactly what to recommend. Then Henrietta decides to write a book. With the help of her three aunties, she hatches a plot. But when Henrietta publishes her story, the critics say she's laid an egg! Is this the end of Henrietta's career as an author?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823423071
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	06/01/2010
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	523,159
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	AD410L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mary Jane and Herm Auch have collaborated on more than ten picture books written by Mary Jane. Both artists used digital techniques to create the illustrations in this book. The Auchs live outside of Rochester, New York, and keep a small flock of chickens.

Editorial Reviews

"The illustrations, a combination of oil paints and digital technology, are bold and colorful. The pictures are busy, with Henrietta at her typewriter while her friends cavort around her. There are imagined scenes in cloud shapes, word balloons, and jokes aplenty. A droll chicken with a repeating line adds to the humor. This offering works on two levels. It’s a funny picture book that could be used as a manual on writing."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

K-Gr 2

Henrietta the chicken, star of Souperchicken (Holiday House, 2003), is an avid library user and decides that because reading is so much fun, "writing books must be eggshilarating." She finds a manual of writing rules and creates her own story-with the unsolicited help of the other fowl. When it is rejected by a publisher, Henrietta decides to self-publish. She takes a copy to her librarian, who tells her to send it to The Corn Book Magazine for review. Henrietta gets another rejection: "odoriferous." Then she wanders into the library at storytime and sees that her book was chosen best of the year by the children. Henrietta is asked to read it aloud. "She read with dramatic expression. Of course, all the children heard was BUK, BUK, BUK...." The illustrations, a combination of oil paints and digital technology, are bold and colorful. The pictures are busy, with Henrietta at her typewriter while her friends cavort around her. There are imagined scenes in cloud shapes, word balloons, and jokes aplenty. A droll chicken with a repeating line adds to the humor. This offering works on two levels. It's a funny picture book that could be used as a manual on writing.-Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI

School Library Journal