Chicken Dance - Hardcover

Tammi Sauer is the author of the best-selling Cowboy Camp (Sterling, 2005), which was a 2006 finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award; selected for Nevada Young Readers’ Award Reading List for 2007; and selected by the Oklahoma Center for the Book as the premier Oklahoman title at the 2007 National Book Festival. She is an active blogger (www.tammisauer.com) and highly involved in the children’s writer community. Tammi graduated from Kansas State University with a BA in Elementary Education and has worked as a teacher and library media specialist.

 

Dan Santat is both author and illustrator of The Guild of Geniuses (Arthur A Levine Books, 2004).which was a Society of Illustrators Original Art Show Selection and won the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators Bronze Medal for Book Illustration. In addition, Dan illustrated Rhea Perlman’s Otto Undercover series (Katherine Tegan Books/HarperCollins) and The Secret Life of Walter Kitty, written by Barbara Jean Hicks (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007). Find out more at www.dantat.com.

 

Grade 2–4—Taking off on television's popular American Idol show, Sauer's text poses a barnyard talent spree with winners getting two tickets to see the famed Elvis Poultry. In the past, the ducks have always aced the contest, but this year Lola and Marge, two determined chickens, set out to be the winners. Scenes of colorful acrobatics stunts, surfing maneuvers, and even cows jumping over the moon fill the pages, interspersed with funny vote-tallying images. At this point, however, the story stumbles in a bit of confusion. The cows are awarded a 10, flatten the ducks, and receive the winning tickets, while Lola and Marge, who "bawked and flapped and shook all over the stage," get 8.5 and are invited by Elvis to dance in his next show. Santat's illustrations, created in acrylic and ink with Adobe Photoshop, provide silly animal faces in sync with the crazy gyrations of the barnyard beasts' performances. Type is scattered across the page adding to the feeling of the tale's mayhem. Children may not get the Elvis connection, but librarians with plentiful budgets may find the book's contest angle worthy of purchase.—Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA END