If You Like… Chickens

There is something comical yet endearing about chickens. It's not much debate that they are some of the silliest birds, and children's book writers agree! There are so many memorable picture books about the little birds. Here are a few books to check out!

Lena the Chicken (But Really a Dinosaur!)

Written by Linda Bailey

Illustrated by K-Fai Steele

New York: Tundra Books of Northern New York, 2025. Picture Book.

Lena is a chicken, but if you ask her, she is a dinosaur! And she can’t understand why the (other) chickens in the coop act the way they do. When a sneaky weasel causes problems for the hens, Lena the dinosaur may be their only hope. This hilarious picture book will have to laughing out loud as you cheer on the chickens.

Mavis the Bravest

Written by Lu Fraser

Illustrated by Sarah Warburton

New York : Godwin Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2024. Picture Book.

Mavis is content to keep to her knitting because she’s convinced that she doesn’t have an ounce of bravery in her little hen body. But when her friend Sandra the sheep goes missing, she steps up to search for her. You’ll be inspired to step outside your comfort zone after reading about this charming chicken.

Hatch and Match

By Ruth Paul

Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2025. Picture Book.

Have some fun with patterns and colors as you help the hens find their eggs. This book is great for preschoolers who love learning almost as much as they love chickens.

Gladys the Magic Chicken

Written by Adam Rubin

Illustrated by Adam Res

New York: Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2021. Picture Book.

Gladys is a fairly ordinary chicken, except people around her seem to have their wishes granted. News spreads of the magic chicken and everyone wants Gladys. Being passed to the next wisher brings some exciting adventures for average ol' Gladys. This silly book from the notable duo, Adam Rubin and Adam Rex is a fabulous, magical tale.

Comments

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Review: Fowl Play

Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...

Five Faves: Picture Books About Wolves

There are a lot of great picture books that have wolves in them. Wolves are beautiful, strong creatures that can also represent scary things (like in the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood). Here are five great new-ish picture books that feature wolves, for those kids who love to howl at the moon. Full Moon Pups Written by Liz Garton Scanlon Illustrated by Chuck Groenink New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2023. Picture Book. This is a beautifully illustrated story about a pack of new wolf pups and how they grow over the course of one moon’s cycle, from full moon to new moon and back again. Readers will see how the new pups don’t open their eyes for days, how they start to explore the world around them, and how the older members of the pack take care of them. The book also includes information about the phases of the moon at the end. Little Good Wolf By Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel Boston: Clarion Books, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publi...

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