Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)
Chasing chickens requires a special talent, which this young black narrator is proud to possess. She stands still as sunlight while the colorful chickens pause, each waiting with one leg raised in the air. Then they all take off. Zap! Another chicken is caught. But our spunky heroine is not satisfied. One chicken, haughty Miss Hen, always eludes her. The Queen of Chicken Chasing tries all her tricks. She makes herself small, hides behind Big Mama’s wheelbarrow, and feigns indifference. Miss Hen quietly disappears. A careful search reveals that she is not in any of the usual hiding places. Not one to give up, our young protagonist does find Miss Hen--and then she is the one that is in for a surprise. She forfeits her chance to catch the wily hen as she admires the new chicks emerging from Miss Hen’s eggs. Colorful illustrations fill the pages with action and suspense. A good read-aloud choice for preschoolers. 2007, Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus and Giroux, $16.00. Ages 3 to 7.

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Our feisty young African-American narrator boasts of being the Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County. Even though Big Mama warns her that if she chases the chickens they will not lay eggs, she still sets off to stalk them. She even has her favorite, Miss Hen. Back and forth they go, with Miss Hen just getting away until one day she finds Miss Hen, sitting on a nest, with three chicks already hatched, and our “Queen” decides that even though she could catch her, she will leave her and her chicks alone. Now as Miss Hen struts by with her twelve chicks and her “Peo-peo! Pruck!” our delightful chicken chaser has become a chicken feeder and guardian, ready to train those chicks to be too fast for anyone to catch. As our charming “Queen” smiles out at us from the front of the jacket under her tiara of chicken feathers, we are captured. The use of letters there and on the title page cut from a variety of sources reinforces the appeal. Imaginative combinations of collage and paint on the double-page scenes create a lively, imaginative visual narrative that tickles our fancy as it appeals esthetically. The use of the cut-out letters to communicate chicken talk is effective in helping us “hear” the squawks and enjoy the fun. 2007, Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus and Giroux, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008)
Pruck! Pruck! . . . Squawkkk!” Despite Bigmama’s admonishment, a young African American girl can’t resist the chase when it comes to the family’s chickens. “I don’t want just any chicken. I want my favorite. Her feathers are shiny as a rained-on roof. She has high yellow stockings and long-fingered feet, and when she talks—‘Pruck! Pruck! Pruck!’—it sounds like pennies falling on a dinner plate.” Janice Harrington’s animated story pits the girl’s determination to embrace that standoffish chicken against the chicken’s own determination to evade capture. Harrington’s narrative flows with fresh, descriptive language and engaging use of hyperbole and onomatopoeia. Artist Shelley Jackson used materials suggestive of a rural or farm environment to create the chickens and other elements of her dynamic, richly textured illustrations. Her art is full of action and extends both the humor and overall appeal of this entertaining picture book. Highly Commended, 2008 Charlotte Zolotow Award CCBC Category: Picture Books for School-Aged Children. 2007, Melanie Kroupa Books / Farrar Straus and Giroux, 32 pages, $16.00. Ages 5-8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 6))
Never has the expression, "feathers will fly" been as aptly illustrated as in this vivacious story of an African-American farm girl who loves nothing more than chasing chickens. Every morning, the self-appointed queen tells tales to gray-haired Big Mama and heads outside to pursue her prey. The story details the joy—and strategy—of the chase in playfully poetic prose: "Then I sneaky-hide behind Big Mama's wheelbarrow and make myself small, small, small." The girl's favorite victim, the elusive Miss Hen, gets a break when her tormentor discovers she's now a nesting mother with fuzzy chicks, a heartwarming development that reforms the once-insatiable chicken-chaser . . . at least temporarily. Harrington's soothingly rhythmic first-person storytelling is just right for reading aloud. Jackson's delightful collages, patched with photos of colorful fabric and other everyday objects, capture the kinetic frenzy of chickens from a variety of unusual perspectives. Cut-out letters and spelling variations on "squawk" add occasional Vladimir Radunsky–style flair, though there's nothing cartoonish about the realistic, wonderfully expressive faces of Big Mama and her charge. Contented clucks all around. 2007, Melanie Kroupa/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 40p, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 4 to 8. Starred Review. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June 2007 (Vol. 60, No. 10))
The mischief sings in every syllable of this energetic tale of a girl who just can’t stop chasing the chickens on her grandmother’s farm. Her routine is as regimented as a soldier’s: first she gets up and performs morning ablutions, then she eats breakfast, tells her grandmother a few stories, and commences her chicken chasing. Of course she has her nemesis, the one chicken in the yard that is as smart, wily, and quick as the chicken-chaser herself. When she stealthily tracks Miss Hen to her hiding place, though, she discovers a true treasure—Miss Hen is a mama, and this changes everything. From then on, the chicken chaser becomes the chicken tender, feeding and minding the birds with no less energy but with far more loving care. Harrington’s storytelling style makes the prose jump from page to ear, with lots of onomatopoeic wordsmithery tucked in to showcase the girl’s affinity for her feathery playmates; the prucks, pee-os, and sqwaukKKs will exercise the reader’s vocal skills and delight young listeners. Jackson’s kinetic collage and paint art is more than a match for Harrington’s lively language; the chickens are improbably composed of feathers made from notebook and graph paper, stamps, homespun fabrics, chair caning, lace, title lists, and painted paper with finely inked designs. These collage bits stand out against the textured painting of the backgrounds and the face of our heroine, whose expressions mirror those of her two chief adversaries—her grandmother and Miss Hen—in two particularly humorous spreads, rendering palpable the contest of wills. Other spreads highlight the peculiar grace of the prepubescent girl enjoying her dubious avocation. Readers will join with her in enjoying fully the pleasures of the thrill of the chase and the surprising satisfaction of getting something wholly different from what you expected. Review Code: R* -- Recommended. A book of special distinction. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2007, Kroupa/Farrar, 34p., $16.00. Ages 4-8 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2007)
An African American girl takes pride in her chicken-chasing skills, but one chicken eludes her. It's refreshing to see a picture book with a female main character so gleefully naughty, but Harrington never crosses the line into cruelty. Jackson's expansive collages display the same zest and energy. This funny story will have city kids longing for the chance to chase chickens. Category: Picture Books. 2007, Farrar/Kroupa, 32pp, 16.00. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 1: Outstanding, noteworthy in style, content, and/or illustration.