Module 1: Interrupting Chicken

SUMMARY
This is a story about a quirky young chicken that loves to get read stories before bedtime. He is so excited when his papa starts to read him a story, he can't help himself not to finish. His papa gets frustrated, and tell the young chicken to read him a bedtime story instead. 

Stein, D. (2010). Interrupting chicken. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press. 


IMPRESSIONS

This is a sweet book that shows the relationship between a father and son during a sweet part of the day, bedtime. Most stories try to evoke emotion between a mother and her children, yet this children's book displays a father doing what seems to be a night routine with his son. I love how this book shows the young chicken eager to read, and the reader can tell there is so much excitement that this little chicken looks forward to this part of the evening. The illustrations have an oil pastel feel about them, and at times display rough sketch marks. The colors are deep and warm to show that even though the book doesn't show windows, it is still night time. The lit up lamp creates a circle glow around the characters to make the reader feel as though they are in a theater to show where the spotlight is on the actors. I also love how the papa chicken reads the young chicken classic stories like Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood for bedtime. The illustrations of the classic stories shows little chicken in the book, which also shows the reader how interested and excited he is to hear these stories.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEW
[Review of the book Interrupting Chicken, by D. Stein]. Kirkus Review retrieved on Sept. 9, 2014 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/david-ezra-stein/interrupting-chicken/.

Despite repeated vows to stop interrupting, a little red chicken can’t resist jumping in to cut her Papa’s bedtime tales short with plot giveaways—“DON’T GO IN! SHE’S A WITCH!”—and truncated, happy endings. Endowing his poultry with flamboyantly oversized combs and wattles, Stein switches between stylish but cozy bedroom scenes and illustrations from each attempted story (into which little red chicken forcibly inserts herself) done in a scribbly, line-and-color style reminiscent of Paul Galdone’s picture-book fairy tales. Having run out of stories, exasperated Papa suggests to little red chicken that she make one up for him, which she does in laborious block print on lined paper, complete with crayoned stick-figure illustrations. Closing with an intimate snuggle after Papa instantly dozes off, this tender iteration of a familiar nighttime ritual will be equally welcomed by fond parents and those children for whom listening to stories is anything but a passive activity. (Picture book. 4-6)

LIBRARY USES

This would be a great lesson for the beginning of the year for young elementary students. If a librarian does a read aloud, it would be a nice way to show that although the students may have read or heard the story before, they need to listen quietly. It is also a good way to start a lesson on listening and library manners.