Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale (The Real Chicken Little)

by Sam Wedelich, Sam Wedelich (Illustrator)

Overview

If you like Mo Willems’ Pigeon, you’ll love Sam Wedelich’s Chicken Little!

Who are you calling little?"In this clever spin on the classic tale... empathy ends up saving the day, and the moral (don't believe everything you hear; check the facts) is broadcast loud and clear." — The Horn Book"Whimsy reigns in Wedelich's debut picture book... A spry readaloud that will entertain adults and listeners in equal measure." — Publishers WeeklyChicken Little is NOT afraid of anything. Well, okay, maybe a mysterious BONK to the head can produce panic. But only momentarily. It's not as though she meant to send the barnyard into a tailspin, thinking that the sky was falling. How ridiculous! But can she calm her feathered friends with facts and reason? A timeless favorite becomes a clever cautionary tale in this FUNNY, fresh, and timely picture book debut by cartoonist, Sam Wedelich!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338359015
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	411,071
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

SAM WEDELICH is the creator of Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale and its hilarious companion Chicken Little and the Big Bad Wolf. She is also a cartoonist, illustrator, and installation designer. When she isn't hunched over her art table trying to make something funny or beautiful, Sam enjoys gardening, cycling, and making music. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and two kids.

Editorial Reviews

04/27/2020

Whimsy reigns in Wedelich’s debut picture book, a reimagining of the classic doomsday story. Punchy speech balloons and spare, loosely lined digital cartoons imbue the title character with abundant personality and humorous mood swings. Sporting oversize red specs and diminutive red boots, the confident chick insists that she is “not little! I am petite!... and I’m not afraid of anything!” She’s rattled after an unidentified object drops from above (“Bonk!”) but insists that there must be a reasonable explanation: “It’s not like the sky is falling.... That’s ridiculous! Or is it?” The curious chicken climbs a ladder to have a candid conversation with the sky—represented by quirky facial features suspended in the air—which insists that it is not falling (“No. Honestly, I’m fine”). But an inevitable misunderstanding ensues, with Chicken Little proclaiming it “clucky chaos! Utter hen-demonium!” before calming the frantic flock, which shifts its attention to bandaging her “bonk.” Sprawling across vertical matte pages dominated by teal and ochre hues, Wedelich’s hand-lettered text mimics her story’s high energy, while the hens’ wry asides (“We’re free-range!”) amplify the comedy. A spry readaloud that will entertain adults and listeners in equal measure. Ages 4–8. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale:"In this clever spin on the classic tale, Chicken Little makes it clear-right from the get-go-that she's got plenty of pluck... Wedelich's hand-lettered text is chockful of humor... Equally chuckle-worthy, Wedelich's loose-lined digital illustrations feature a protagonist who sports cowboy boots and oversized spectacles, both tinted fire-engine red. In this fractured fable, empathy ends up saving the day, and the moral (don't believe everything you hear; check the facts) is broadcast loud and clear." — The Horn Book"Whimsy reigns in Wedelich's debut picture book, a reimagining of the classic doomsday story. Punchy speech balloons and spare, loosely lined digital cartoons imbue the title character with abundant personality and humorous mood swings...Sprawling across vertical matte pages dominated by teal and ochre hues, Wedelich's hand-lettered text mimics her story's high energy, while the hens' wry asides ("We're free-range!") amplify the comedy. A spry readaloud that will entertain adults and listeners in equal measure." — Publishers Weekly"Sam's whimsical line brings to life a contemporary take on a classic character. This unexpected story has a great message and many laughs." — Kirkus Review"The whole episode takes on a kinder, gentler slant... [and] this chicken, stylish in her red cowboy boots and huge eyeglasses, is worthy of admiration for her ability to "pullet" together in the wake of a sudden mishap." — Booklist

From the Publisher

2020-02-18
A chicken investigates whether or not the sky is falling.

The bespectacled fowl protagonist immediately yells out to readers that she “is NOT little!” via an ocher speech balloon. “ ‘Little’ implies young and small,” she goes on, asserting that “babies are easily scared and I’m not afraid of anything!” But when an unidentified projectile bonks her on the head, she panics, soon jumping to the conclusion that the sky is falling. Word spreads of her investigation (the sky itself trying to convince her otherwise), and soon it’s “utter hen-demonium.” Persuaded by the sky, the chicken calms down her comrades with an impassioned appeal to reason and sympathy (how optimistic), and she is soon clucked over, bandaged, and back to yelling that she’s “FINE!” Energetic, expressive digital illustrations look like loose pen-and-ink drawings. Little has white feathers and a red comb, and she wears cunning red boots; some of her compatriots (many of whom are brown or black) are similarly shod. Her histrionics will be familiar to children and people who know children, and her probing exchange with the anthropomorphized sky is inventive, but this is an otherwise straightforward retelling of the classic tale. The penultimate scene, in which the little chicken receives medical treatment for her wound, is lackluster and anticlimactic. The bluster and squawkings will be fun for an energetic read-aloud, though, the calm narration pairing comically with colorful dialogue.

Adds little depth to the original but is enjoyable nonetheless. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews