Letting Go

January 14, 2013
The Loopy Coop Hens continue to explore their world (carefully) in their third picture book, in which apples falling from a tree can only mean one thing: “A FOX! He is in the tree! He is throwing apples!” The three hens try to enlist the help of dreamy Rooster Sam, to no avail, so it’s up to brave Dot to conquer her fears of ladders, foxes, and falling apples. Stoeke remains a master of understatement, delivering the book’s moments of slapstick humor (including several apple assaults from above) and quiet contemplation with equal aplomb. Ages 3–5.

December 1, 2012
It's the third outing for the cockamamie Loopy Coop hens. Midge, Pip and Dot, three terminally gullible and mildly delusional hens, are taking in the shade under an apple tree. An apple falls, startling them. What could that be about, they wonder? Very likely, they decide, it is a fox up in the tree throwing apples down at them. When more apples continue to rain down, Dot, who is feeling intrepid this day, decides to climb the ladder and see what's up. What she finds is that apples fall of their own accord and that the view is sublime. The pure transcendence infects the hens. "I feel like I am an apple," says Pip. "I feel like letting go," says Dot. And Stoeke lets them do just that. They drop like rocks--or apples, it is true--their chicken wings as useful as bicycles in the sky. They sprawl in the shade of the tree once more, now knocked dizzy from their crash landing, but giddy: "That was fun!" "I love being an apple!" "Let's do it again!" Here is an unconventional and gratifying take on "letting go." The story, in all its brevity, subverts any moralizing. If there is any didacticism present, it is that letting go needn't only be a taxing rite of passage; it can be sheer, even mystical joy. Midge, Pip, Dot--the Marx Sisters. (Picture book. 3-5)

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February 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 1-The Loopy Coop Hens are back in another picture-book adventure that can do double duty as an early reader, with nary a wasted word. Midge, Pip, and Dot are sitting in the shade when some apples fall on them, and they jump to the conclusion that this is the work of a fox. They beckon Rooster Sam, but when he gets scared and runs away, Dot, the bravest of the three, climbs up a ladder to have a look. She discovers that the apples "just... let go." She convinces the other hens to join her for the view, and then they all joyfully "let go." The story line is more sophisticated than the simple text indicates, and the early elementary audience will understand and enjoy the humor, as will older preschoolers. Stoeke's trademark naif, simply outlined chickens are in full feather here. The artist portrays a variety of emotions with a minimum of lines, and the large, colorful illustrations fill the pages, lending themselves to reading the book to a group. The clean lines and unembellished backgrounds allow the pictures to pop and draw the eye nicely. A welcome addition to any collection.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

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