Chicken in the Kitchen - Hardcover

Tony Johnston is a renowned author of more than one hundred books for young readers. Among her award-winning books are The Iguana Brothers, illustrated by Mark Teague; the Sparky and Eddie books, illustrated by Susannah Ryan; The Quilt Story and The Badger and the Magic Fan, both illustrated by Tomie dePaola; The Wagon, illustrated by James E. Ransome; and Yonder, illustrated by Lloyd Bloom. Her previous books with Simon & Schuster include the Alien & Possum series as well as Go Track a Yak! Tony was a teacher before going into publishing, and is now a full-time writer. She lives with her family in San Marino, California.

Eleanor Taylor is the internationally beloved illustrator of numerous picture books, including Chicken in the Kitchen by Tony Johnston. Ellie and her husband live in London, England, with a son who isn't quite old enough to run around chattering like a monkey -- but maybe this book will change that.

PreS. "There's a chicken in the kitchen / and she's pokin' like the dickens / at the oven and the bread box / just a peckin' and a pickin'." In this picture-book poem, the resident chef, an aproned dog, watches in bewilderment as a hen scurries around the kitchen. It's not food the chicken wants; she refuses everything the dog offers. It eventually becomes clear what she is searching for: a nest. The dog helps provide the sticks, a nest is assembled, and the chicken settles down until, finally, there's a "kitchen full of chickens!" With the exception of a few phrases that feel a little convoluted ("While my sweeper is a swishin' / dawns the plan for which I'm wishin'"), the folksy language is appealing, and even if children don't immediately hear the sense in every line, they'll respond to the chanting beat of the words and to the glorious, cheerful chaos envisioned in Taylor's detailed pencil-and-watercolor illustrations. Gillian Engberg
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