Summary: A clever little chicken named Henrietta loves to read. She decides to go to the library after finishing all the books on her farm. Henrietta convinces the local librarian that even chickens deserve to check-out books from the library. After reading books to her aunts day after day, Henrietta decides that writing books must be as fun as reading them. She decides to check-out a book about writing to develop her own story. Henrietta learns to create characters and a plot for her story. Once her story is finished, she has the courage to send it to a publisher. Henrietta learns about rejection and never giving up on your dreams. Her library friends have a wonderful surprise for her at the end of the story.
Citation:
Auch, M. J., & Auch, H. (2009). The plot chickens (1st ed.). New York, NY:
Holiday House.
My Impression: This charming story provides an inspirational message on perseverance. This message is provided without preaching and telling readers what to do. Mary Jane and Herm Auch use clever language to keep the reader interested. Make-believe words such as "eggstasy" and "eggshilarating" provide humor to keep the story lively. The authors provide stunning illustrations that are colorful and creative with hidden details within each page.
Professional Reviews:
Horn Book
"Henrietta, Souperchicken's punning hen star, finds writing so "eggshilarating" that she vows to get a book published. Following an amusingly daffy all-chicken brainstorming session, the story takes an adult-geared detour, parodying the cruelties of the publishing world (the "Corn" Book Magazine is not spared), before coming back around. The illustrations are a discombobulating marriage of oil paintings and digital technology."
& H. Auch]. Retrieved from http://www.hbook.com
School Library Journal
School Library Journal
"K-Gr 2-Henrietta the chicken, star of Souperchicken (Holiday House, 2003), is an avid library user and decides that because reading is so much fun, "writing books must be eggshilarating." She finds a manual of writing rules and creates her own story-with the unsolicited help of the other fowl. When it is rejected by a publisher, Henrietta decides to self-publish. She takes a copy to her librarian, who tells her to send it to The Corn Book Magazine for review. Henrietta gets another rejection: "odoriferous." Then she wanders into the library at storytime and sees that her book was chosen best of the year by the children. Henrietta is asked to read it aloud. "She read with dramatic expression. Of course, all the children heard was BUK, BUK, BUK.." The illustrations, a combination of oil paints and digital technology, are bold and colorful. The pictures are busy, with Henrietta at her typewriter while her friends cavort around her. There are imagined scenes in cloud shapes, word balloons, and jokes aplenty. A droll chicken with a repeating line adds to the humor. This offering works on two levels. It's a funny picture book that could be used as a manual on writing."
H. Auch]. School Library Journal, 14(3), 31. Retrieved from http://
www.schoollibraryjournal.com
Uses within the Library:
1. Chicken Coop: After reading the story, provide students with pre-made paper eggs. Students write their favorite scenes from the story, their favorite characters and their favorite words from the story. Place all paper eggs in the pre-made chicken coop. Label each part of the coop with "Scenes", "Characters" and "Words" to identify each category.
2. Chicken Theater: After reading the story, develop a script with students using their favorite scenes from the book. Assign each child a part. Have stage hands, a prop group, a scene group, a narrator and actors so that each child receives a part in the production. Perform for a younger audience within your school.
Book Cover: Book cover received courtesy of Follett Titlewave. Retrieved
from http://www.titlewave.com
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