Big Chickens Go To Town


...to get slaughtered.                     

THREE PROS
*Henry Cole couldn't have captured the look of a distressed chicken any better   
*A ton of words are used to rhyme in here that you won't find in many other children's books
*I assume this is supposed to take place in New Orleans (Internet confirms the author grew up in Louisiana)-- if so, I've got to give credit to Cole for not just creating a generic locale

THREE CONS 
*If you put a gun to my head and asked me what the moral of this story is, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead a few seconds later
*I cannot begin to tell you how annoying this is to read -- you would think with all of the advanced rhymes it would be good but it is NOT
*The formula used to develop the plot reminds me of something dreamt up by someone with severe OCD and a coke problem

ONE DAD'S OPINION
Let me stress how talented I think the illustrator is.  None of this is his fault.  All the blame has to be placed at the feet of Leslie Helakoski.  It doesn't add up, because she obviously has the vocabulary and the resume to be a gifted children's author.  Let's chalk this up to the overwhelming truth that sequels just don't measure up to the original.  [Granted, I've never seen the original, but I've got to believe it's better than this.]                     

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