Chicken Little and the Big Bad Wolf

December 1, 2020
A flock of chickens faces an external threat. The red-booted titular chicken blusters that "I am NOT scared of any wolf!" on the title page, but when a large, furry, gray creature plows into the page in a riot of scribbled limbs, the fowl panics in true Chicken Little fashion, spreading it to the other chickens. The flock splits into two parties, Fight and Flight, as they debate about what to do. But Chicken Little realizes that the wolf might not be so bad after all. When the bespectacled bird finally works up the nerve to ask "Hey, wolf! Are you bad?" he responds delightfully, mid-yoga pose: "Me? I don't think so. I suppose we all have light and dark in us...but I try to make good choices if that's what you mean." The wolf is actually vegetarian, and Chicken Little announces that "Wolf left his pack because he didn't fit in....He's had a hard time finding a place to belong" (though the wolf never says this himself, making Chicken's conclusion quite a leap). One vegetarian "pot-cluck" later, the chickens have a new friend. The art adds plenty of humor to this spin on an old tale, with chickens dolled up in flight goggles and aviator helmets as they attempt to flee the coop, and the oft-heard message about difference and acceptance is entertainingly delivered. A fun twist on familiar stories. (Picture book. 4-7)

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