Stuffed with clever wordplay, groanable puns, and easy-to-ham-it-up animal sounds, the chuckle-inducing narrative makes a crowd-pleasing read-aloud. Turkey’s getups are exuberantly silly and the animals’ sardonic facial expressions are sublime.” —School Library Journal
“Kids will eat this up this clever and comical tale.” —Booklist
“This book is as silly as Denys Cazet’s offerings about Minnie and Moo and just as funny. Harper’s comical watercolor illustrations pair naturally with Silvano’s clever, filled-with-wordplay text. A first choice for holiday collections.” —Publishers Weekly
Wendi Silvano's feathered protagonist knows that he's headed for Turkey Trouble (Marshall Cavendish, 2009; PreS-Gr 4), the 'kind of trouble where it's almost Thanksgiving...and you're the main course.' Refusing to go willingly to the platter, the plucky poultry hatches a clever plan: he will hide his identity by camouflaging himself as a less-than-Thanksgiving-worthy animal. However, when one hilariously jury-rigged costume after another falls flat, the fretful fowl must come up with a final brainstorm (and his best disguise yet). Stuffed with clever wordplay, groanable puns, and easy-to-ham-it-up animal sounds, the chuckle-inducing narrative makes a crowd-pleasing read-aloud. Lee Harper's engaging watercolor cartoons complement the text with opulent autumn hues and wry touches of humor. Turkey's getups are exuberantly silly and the animals' sardonic facial expressions are sublime. Use this book to inspire discussions or creative writing projects about Thanksgiving from the point of view of the designated main dish.
As the main meal approaches, nervous Turkey experiments with a series of costumes—a plan to disguise himself—in an attempt to avoid becoming Thanksgiving dinner. Trying first to look like Horse, then Cow, and after that, Pig, Sheep, and even Rooster, Turkey is discovered every time by a different animal, who uses an identifying pun, as an exclamation to discourage Turkey's getup. The double page spreads show various aspects of the farm and its expressive faced animals. And the humorous watercolor paintings demonstrate Turkey's folly in his struggles to save himself, by trying to become something he is not. When it seems all is lost, and despite his best efforts, Turkey, or failing that, perhaps Rooster, will end up for dinner on Thanksgiving day at the farmer's table, a surprising idea from the garden forms as a solution to Turkey's dilemma. Author, and early childhood teacher, Wendi Silvano has cooked up a prankish tale, linked with comedic skill by artist Lee Harper's ridiculously laughable illustrations. It's a playful fit for the weeks between Halloween costumes and the holiday of harvest.
Hold onto your drumsticks, Turkey is in trouble. It's almost Thanksgiving and how can he avoid ending up on the dinner platter? He has an idea: he disguises himself as a horse, a cow, a pig, and a sheep, but none of them fool even the animals. Finally he tries being a rooster, but when Farmer Jake can't find Turkey, his wife says they could always eat rooster. Yikes! Turkey's final brainstorm is one last disguise-as a pizza delivery guy, and indeed his hide is saved by the tasty tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and onions growing on the farm. Turkey's costumes are ridiculously funny; for example, wearing a bucket on his beak with two slits for a pig snout and a scrub brush strapped to the back of his head for a horse's mane. Watercolor illustrations play up the bug-eyed animals with lots of in-your-face close-ups. Kids will eat this up this clever and comical tale-and very likely request pizza for Thanksgiving dinner, too.
Turkey's in the "kind of trouble where it's almost Thanksgiving...and you're the main course." Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he's trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper's quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he's unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey's horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes-in November? Chalk it up to artistic license-is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)
