Written by Jarrett Dapier
Illustrated by AndreaTsurumi
Chronicle Books
NPR BEST BOOK OF 2021
BOOKPAGE BEST BOOK OF 2021
A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD GOLD SELECTION
⭐Starred BookPage Review
⭐Starred Publisher's Weekly Review
A PRIDE AND LESS PREJUDICE PICK 2022
Interrupting Chicken meets Click, Clack, Moo in this zany classic-in-the-making!
With rollicking rhythms, nonsensical refrains, and too many chickens to count, this modern classic will inspire unstoppable giggles and endless rereads. Bawka-bawka!
Mr. Watson has 456 chickens in the sink, on the bed, in the bread box. When his partner, Mr. Nelson, threatens to leave, Mr. Watson takes his chickens to town to sell only for them to escape! Young readers will follow Mr. Watson all around town as he gathers up his chickens. But, when they're all rounded up, does he have the heart to sell them? Does a different fate await these chickens?
This quirky, irresistible book is full of read-aloud fun with its onomatopoeia, rollicking rhythm, and familiar refrains and ends with a touch of sweetness. It has all the makings of a classic, with a farm theme, hilarious refrains, and a familiar narrative structure that unfolds in threes. Librarians, teachers, and parents looking for a new book that feels traditional will love sharing this book with children.
"This is one of the year’s most entertaining and bighearted picture books. You might even say it’s in fine feather."
-BookPage (Top 10 picture books of 2021)
"Big chaos energy alert!...Madcap energy infuses Tsurumi’s wild illustrations.It’s also nice to see a loving, gay relationship in a picture book that doesn’t center on parenthood – of human children, anyway.
-Betsy Bird, NPR (Best books of 2021)
"Animals creating mayhem deliver rousing readalouds,
and Dapier (Jazz for Lunch!) and Tsurumi (I’m on It!) here
drive this story element to its riotous extreme."
--Publisher's Weekly, starred review
“Positive incidental Queer representation in a book about too many chickens!?! YES PLEASE. … All the while you giggle about singing chickens and chickens in the cheese, you are reading a book that has strong LGTBQIA+ representation happening visibly and without challenge.”
-InclusiveStorytime
“It’s a delightful book... A bright clean palette and minimal texture lays the stage for an explosion of contour line drawings that really play with movement, and organic shapes. How much personality can one put into the shape of a chicken’s wing? Well, Tsurumi has tested those boundaries and the final effect is quirky and full of feeling.”
-Bookstagram (Best Read-Aloud Books of 2021)
