Clucky and the Magic Kettle

March 1, 2013
A doting mother hen's special stew provides a generous and much-needed serving of community support for her brood. Clucky the Hen usually takes her three children to Aviary School on her big sturdy tricycle. Hide-and-go-seek is their favorite recess game, and they also work on reading and painting and singing. But some of the other birds at the school have strange ideas, and they plant doubts in the tiny chicks' tiny heads. Mr. Goose suggests that the featherbrained Clucky might simply forget about them one day and abandon them. The big blue peacock chick warns them to stay away from the duck, lest their beaks turn twisty like his. The pigeon "and his little bunch" ridicule the chicks because they were supposedly born upside down, very different from the other birds. Each tale sends the three chicks crying home to their mother for comfort. Her supportive words are just a quick, temporary fix, but she also has a secret weapon: her magic kettle. In the quiet of night, she fills it...with spite, envy, "nasty feelings" and just a shake of stardust. She puts her special stew into jars and slaps on a label: "Yuk!!" And magically, envy turns to admiration. Huh? This tale of self-esteem and the challenges of school has some serious logic problems. (Picture book. 3-5)

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May 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 2-This third tale of Clucky the Hen extends her character as a good mother who is often absentminded. At school, other animals make fun of her and her chicks' friend, and her youngsters go home concerned. When they talk about the incidents with Clucky, she tells them each time that the comments are "nonsense" and to "get that out of your head." After the third time the chicks report negative remarks, Clucky makes a magic brew of spite, envy, and nasty feelings, boils the potion for hours, and puts it in a jar. Clucky and her chicks recycle the jar and the feelings turn to admiration, love, support, and gratitude. Though this title is positioned as a book about bullying, it misses the mark. The illustrations are bright and eye-catching, but the convoluted plot structure, combined with the often-forced rhyming translation, may leave readers feeling dissatisfied.-Lindsay Persohn, University of South Florida, Tampa

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