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The Hoboken Chicken Emergency #1
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
When the butcher at Murphy's Meat Market loses the order for the Bobowicz family's Thanksgiving turkey, young Arthur brings home a chicken weighing two hundred sixty-six pounds which causes a bizarre crisis in Hoboken, New Jersey
83 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
About the author
Daniel Pinkwater
135 books391 followersDaniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. Pinkwater has also illustrated many of his books in the past, although for more recent works that task has passed to his wife Jill Pinkwater.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
November 16, 2021
Chickens, as everyone knows, "are very sensitive birds... When their feelings are hurt, they become unpleasant, anti-social. A perfectly sweet chicken can become a bitter destructive bird, if it feels that it is unwanted..."
And so it is with Henrietta, the 266 pound chicken young Arthur Bobowicz brings home one Thanksgiving. When Arthur's father insists that the massive bird must go, Henrietta ends up frightened and homeless, lashing out angrily at the world around her. It's the "Hoboken Chicken Emergency," and as mass hysteria grips the city, the authorities seem helpless to stop the fowl depredations. Will Henrietta be caught by Anthony De Palma, the Chicken Hunter? Will Arthur and his beloved bird finally be reunited...?
It's another hilarious Pinkwater adventure, complete with all the wonderfully improbable circumstances, quirky characters, and sly dialogue I've come to expect from this author. Originally published in the 1970s, my copy of The Hoboken Chicken Emergency came from the library, and includes Pinkwater's own simple illustrations. I understand that this title was recently republished, with an "updated" text, and different illustrations. Frankly, I'm not certain that any changes were necessary. Although anyone with a sense of humor will be able to appreciate it, this book's off-beat hilarity and action-oriented story make it an ideal choice for reluctant young boy readers.
And so it is with Henrietta, the 266 pound chicken young Arthur Bobowicz brings home one Thanksgiving. When Arthur's father insists that the massive bird must go, Henrietta ends up frightened and homeless, lashing out angrily at the world around her. It's the "Hoboken Chicken Emergency," and as mass hysteria grips the city, the authorities seem helpless to stop the fowl depredations. Will Henrietta be caught by Anthony De Palma, the Chicken Hunter? Will Arthur and his beloved bird finally be reunited...?
It's another hilarious Pinkwater adventure, complete with all the wonderfully improbable circumstances, quirky characters, and sly dialogue I've come to expect from this author. Originally published in the 1970s, my copy of The Hoboken Chicken Emergency came from the library, and includes Pinkwater's own simple illustrations. I understand that this title was recently republished, with an "updated" text, and different illustrations. Frankly, I'm not certain that any changes were necessary. Although anyone with a sense of humor will be able to appreciate it, this book's off-beat hilarity and action-oriented story make it an ideal choice for reluctant young boy readers.
November 13, 2015
What a delightful book. Can't recall if I ever read it. This time I read it aloud and my 4th graders to a one loved it. Great follow-up to Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer.
August 15, 2013
How can you not love a 266 pound potato eating pet chicken with hurt feelings?
November 17, 2020
Absolutely charming!
March 10, 2012
So my friend comes to visit me for the first time in five years from up North for nine days. What do we do with our time together? A lot of stuff… and go to the library! XD I am such a nerd when it comes to books so of course I had to drag my best bud to one of the many branches my library has. I wanted to take her to all of them but, alas, there’s only so much you can do in nine days. Oh well… at least I managed to take her to one of them! Anyway, we go to one of the branches and we start browsing the selves. I pointed out books that I have read that were good, not so good, were utter crap, and so forth. Then I drag her to the children’s literature section because, let’s face it, books written for kids are a lot better than those written for teens and adults. (She agrees with me on this.) When we started browsing those selves, she points out The Hoboken Chicken Emergency to me. She asked if I had ever read it seeing as how we both were born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey. I told her, “No.” She was a bit surprised to hear I didn’t read it seeing as how she read it when she was in elementary school. Well, I have an answer for why I didn’t read it… I WENT TO BLOODY CATHOLIC SCHOOL WHEN I WAS YOUNGER!!! Those types of schools take away all the good books for kids to read. When I transfer to public school… well… I discovered Dr. Seuss and… yeah… didn’t bother reading anything else. Anywho, long story short, she pointed this book out to me and I had to read it. Not because I actually want to read about Hoboken because I really hate that town but… well… I grew up there… so I guess I just wanted to see how it was portrayed in this novel… even if I personally think Hoboken sucks. Don’t get me wrong! I am glad I read this book! It was fun. It was quirky. It was… bizarre but in a very good way. Besides, as much as I don’t like the place, I did like reading about it through the eyes of a child.
I think D. Manus Pinkwater did a great job in writing this book. I can tell he knows how to write a children’s book, if only because of how he keeps it simple and to the point. There’s no use of fancy language here! But I think that’s what makes it work. If a child picks up this book and starts reading it, that child is not going to want to have a dictionary right by their side in order to figure out what the author is trying to say. They are going to want to dive right in and see what the plot is all about! The parts where Pinkwater described certain locations of Hoboken were amazing! I know for I’ve lived there nearly all my life! Reading these depictions really brought nostalgia back… I remember the park… the docks… the many buildings and the different ethnicities. Man… all of it. It was just so relieving to read about these places again. Reading about it makes it seem almost… *Shakes head* I’m trailing off again. I should get back to the review! XD There are times when I think that the pacing was a little too fast. I believe some parts could have been touched upon a bit more. It’s too short. We could have seen a bit more with the relationship between Arthur and Henrietta but that’s just me being picky. It was an okay length and Pinkwater managed to write a cute short story about a chicken living in Hoboken.
Let’s move onto characters. Arthur, our protagonist, is a young boy given the task to find a Thanksgiving turkey for his family to eat on that holiday. He brought back… a chicken. A giant chicken. Who goes by the name Henrietta. Arthur is a very calm boy, I feel. He does what his parents’ tell him to do, he listens to adults, and he takes responsibility. He’s also very caring and sweet. He may be a bit too sensitive but what boy his age isn’t? I think he was a great main character and though we don’t learn much about him (this being a short book and all), we got to learn enough in order to appreciate his character. Henrietta, the chicken, is just as lovable as Arthur. She may be slow on learning, but she develops into a fine bird that loves her master very much and would do anything to be with him again. Then there’s Professor Mazzocchi, the man who “created” Henrietta, and he’s just a wacky, old, fun, goofy character. He might have some… issues… but I think that adds to his colorful side. Silly though he may be, I found myself really liking him. The last character I want to talk about is Anthony DePalma… I hate him. He’s a greedy, selfish, manipulative prick who claimed to be one thing when really… *Groans* …I just don’t like him. That’s about all I can say about the characters without giving anything away. Just read the book if you want to see more of these guys in action!
Man, this was such a spur of the moment read! It was in such great taste, too! It’s such an old book with so much class to it! Yeah, it could be silly and sometimes ridiculous, but that just adds to the fun, I think. This book is great for kids in elementary schools to read. I don’t think this book is for everyone. Older teens and adults might find the writing too juvenile. Too foolish for their liking so I wouldn’t recommend it to them. However, if you are looking for something short and just fun, pick this book up. You might end up enjoying it. And if you grew up in Hoboken, definitely pick this book up! You will appreciate it all the more. I know I did. Well, that’s all for this review. Hopefully, I won’t be taking long to read and review the next book. I seem to be slowing down with the reading as of late. XP
I think D. Manus Pinkwater did a great job in writing this book. I can tell he knows how to write a children’s book, if only because of how he keeps it simple and to the point. There’s no use of fancy language here! But I think that’s what makes it work. If a child picks up this book and starts reading it, that child is not going to want to have a dictionary right by their side in order to figure out what the author is trying to say. They are going to want to dive right in and see what the plot is all about! The parts where Pinkwater described certain locations of Hoboken were amazing! I know for I’ve lived there nearly all my life! Reading these depictions really brought nostalgia back… I remember the park… the docks… the many buildings and the different ethnicities. Man… all of it. It was just so relieving to read about these places again. Reading about it makes it seem almost… *Shakes head* I’m trailing off again. I should get back to the review! XD There are times when I think that the pacing was a little too fast. I believe some parts could have been touched upon a bit more. It’s too short. We could have seen a bit more with the relationship between Arthur and Henrietta but that’s just me being picky. It was an okay length and Pinkwater managed to write a cute short story about a chicken living in Hoboken.
Let’s move onto characters. Arthur, our protagonist, is a young boy given the task to find a Thanksgiving turkey for his family to eat on that holiday. He brought back… a chicken. A giant chicken. Who goes by the name Henrietta. Arthur is a very calm boy, I feel. He does what his parents’ tell him to do, he listens to adults, and he takes responsibility. He’s also very caring and sweet. He may be a bit too sensitive but what boy his age isn’t? I think he was a great main character and though we don’t learn much about him (this being a short book and all), we got to learn enough in order to appreciate his character. Henrietta, the chicken, is just as lovable as Arthur. She may be slow on learning, but she develops into a fine bird that loves her master very much and would do anything to be with him again. Then there’s Professor Mazzocchi, the man who “created” Henrietta, and he’s just a wacky, old, fun, goofy character. He might have some… issues… but I think that adds to his colorful side. Silly though he may be, I found myself really liking him. The last character I want to talk about is Anthony DePalma… I hate him. He’s a greedy, selfish, manipulative prick who claimed to be one thing when really… *Groans* …I just don’t like him. That’s about all I can say about the characters without giving anything away. Just read the book if you want to see more of these guys in action!
Man, this was such a spur of the moment read! It was in such great taste, too! It’s such an old book with so much class to it! Yeah, it could be silly and sometimes ridiculous, but that just adds to the fun, I think. This book is great for kids in elementary schools to read. I don’t think this book is for everyone. Older teens and adults might find the writing too juvenile. Too foolish for their liking so I wouldn’t recommend it to them. However, if you are looking for something short and just fun, pick this book up. You might end up enjoying it. And if you grew up in Hoboken, definitely pick this book up! You will appreciate it all the more. I know I did. Well, that’s all for this review. Hopefully, I won’t be taking long to read and review the next book. I seem to be slowing down with the reading as of late. XP
February 13, 2019
"Some people made a sort of moaning noise when they saw the chicken." This madcap chapter book about a boy who unexpectedly befriends a giant chicken has a plot that spirals out of control but never ceases to be fun. This edition has incredible illustrations that add to the book's quirky whimsy. Written in the late 70s, this book is still relevant today when it comes to its message about mob mentality and distrust in the perception of the general public. When people see something they don't understand, we have a tendency to over-exaggerate its strangeness.
August 9, 2020
I was enjoying Kelly Jones' Unusual Chickens For The Exceptional Poultry Farmer (highly recommended), in which Pinkwater's Hoboken Chicken Emergency is the book Jones' heroine reads aloud to her birds. Of course I had to get and read it. As zany and amusing as I remembered Pinkwater's work to be, of course. He is in a category of his own.
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November 15, 2022great book
August 9, 2021
This is one of those books that I loved as a kid, lost to a dreadful but I suppose necessary childhood-possessions-purge, then located in a used bookstore and rebought as an adult.
One nice bonus is that the copy I picked up for $2 has both Daniel Pinkwater's signature and an original sketch, so I'm definitely never letting go of this one. And anyway, why would I, when it's just as wonderful as ever.
There's something just so immensely charming about a simple story where a boy befriends a 6 foot tall, 266 pound chicken - and where the entire town grows to love her as well.
As often as I read this as a kid, there were still parts I didn't remember correctly. Since the cover art (both of my copy and the one I found years later) has a chicken peering over the top of buildings, I always had this vague idea, like the frantic citizens of Hoboken, that Henrietta was far larger than 6 feet, or grew over the course of the story. But while she's certainly large for a chicken, she's not actually that big in human terms, which makes it easier for her to escape capture for a month, while wreaking havoc on trash cans and police cars and supermarkets.
I also remembered the chicken hunter, Anthony DePalma, being a much more dangerous threat, but it's actually way funnier to read about him scamming $60,000 (in the '70s!) and a limousine from the town council, leaving them with a chicken-robot-version of himself, complete with a mustache and styrofoam feathers. The dialogue is so, so funny, and the writing throughout is snappy and perfectly paced for young readers - not dumbed down in any way, but with short, punchy sentences that get exactly the right mood across.
I love the random mad scientist and all his weird little inventions that never get explained at all. I love the casual multicultural feel of this story - Arthur's family is Polish, trying very hard to Be American by eating turkey (which they dislike) on Thanksgiving, a tradition they try to share with families from "Italy, and the Ukraine, and Puerto Rico, and Hong Kong."
Later on, when the town council is convinced to fix the chicken problem with love instead of hate (a message that certainly feels important, decades later!), messages are printed around town "in English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Hindi." I love this...it's such a quiet, easy way of showing that communities are made up of many different types of people, and multiple cultures.
Is the ending, with all of Hoboken growing to love Henrietta, and police officers and families carrying around chicken-friendly potatoes and bags of chips, realistic? No, but neither is a 6 foot tall 266 pound chicken. (As an adult, my main thought is: wow, what a horrible mess that would be to clean up in the home. As a kid, I simply loved every page of it.)
The illustrations are very simple but very effective. The robot chicken is particularly hilarious.
A great little story that kids will love and adults can still enjoy.
One nice bonus is that the copy I picked up for $2 has both Daniel Pinkwater's signature and an original sketch, so I'm definitely never letting go of this one. And anyway, why would I, when it's just as wonderful as ever.
There's something just so immensely charming about a simple story where a boy befriends a 6 foot tall, 266 pound chicken - and where the entire town grows to love her as well.
As often as I read this as a kid, there were still parts I didn't remember correctly. Since the cover art (both of my copy and the one I found years later) has a chicken peering over the top of buildings, I always had this vague idea, like the frantic citizens of Hoboken, that Henrietta was far larger than 6 feet, or grew over the course of the story. But while she's certainly large for a chicken, she's not actually that big in human terms, which makes it easier for her to escape capture for a month, while wreaking havoc on trash cans and police cars and supermarkets.
I also remembered the chicken hunter, Anthony DePalma, being a much more dangerous threat, but it's actually way funnier to read about him scamming $60,000 (in the '70s!) and a limousine from the town council, leaving them with a chicken-robot-version of himself, complete with a mustache and styrofoam feathers. The dialogue is so, so funny, and the writing throughout is snappy and perfectly paced for young readers - not dumbed down in any way, but with short, punchy sentences that get exactly the right mood across.
I love the random mad scientist and all his weird little inventions that never get explained at all. I love the casual multicultural feel of this story - Arthur's family is Polish, trying very hard to Be American by eating turkey (which they dislike) on Thanksgiving, a tradition they try to share with families from "Italy, and the Ukraine, and Puerto Rico, and Hong Kong."
Later on, when the town council is convinced to fix the chicken problem with love instead of hate (a message that certainly feels important, decades later!), messages are printed around town "in English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Hindi." I love this...it's such a quiet, easy way of showing that communities are made up of many different types of people, and multiple cultures.
Is the ending, with all of Hoboken growing to love Henrietta, and police officers and families carrying around chicken-friendly potatoes and bags of chips, realistic? No, but neither is a 6 foot tall 266 pound chicken. (As an adult, my main thought is: wow, what a horrible mess that would be to clean up in the home. As a kid, I simply loved every page of it.)
The illustrations are very simple but very effective. The robot chicken is particularly hilarious.
A great little story that kids will love and adults can still enjoy.
March 19, 2016
This book was sort of funny and sort of sad. I didn't like how they tormented Henrietta. They tormented her because she's a giant chicken and they were scared of her. I liked in the end that they treated her with respect. She was 166 lbs!!!! Some people thought she was a guerilla, some people thought she was a polar bear. Some knew she was a chicken. At the end someone bought her a giant root beer. I would recommend this book because it's funny. They started by not liking her, and it is not like they learned a lesson they just tried being nice to her and it worked out. I wish they had learned a lesson instead. But I'm happy everything worked out.
June 10, 2021
Good story -- good for lower grades. Enjoyed it.
June 28, 2016
This is a fun and exciting chapter book for young children! It is a story that takes place on Thanksgiving day in Hoboken, New Jersey. Arthur, the main character in the novel, goes to the meat market to find a turkey, but ends up with Henrietta, a two hundred and sixty six pound chicken.
The chapter book is engaging, fun, and exciting for readers. It is a book that you will not be able to put down! The Hoboken Chicken Emergency is a book that both adults and children will like. It has many twists and turns which ultimately lead to a great ending.
The chapter book is engaging, fun, and exciting for readers. It is a book that you will not be able to put down! The Hoboken Chicken Emergency is a book that both adults and children will like. It has many twists and turns which ultimately lead to a great ending.
December 6, 2016
A quirky story about a boy and his love for his pet, Henrietta, a 266 lb. potato loving chicken. There is plenty of silly slapstick humor with Henrietta running loose all over Hoboken and strangers mistaking her for a gorilla. The story loses steam towards the end -- everyone is too scared of Henrietta to be nice to her and as a result Henrietta becomes mean. But there is a sweet moral at the end; basically making it clear to everyone that if they are nice to Henrietta, she will be nice in return.
May 11, 2011
A very out-there children's book, classic Pinkwater.
November 26, 2020
Listened to the audiobook as a family and it was just spot-on. Really excellent. We all enjoyed it.
February 2, 2020
If I want funny, I go for a children's book . So I am wandering around the children's library and spotted this Pinkwater book. I thought I had read all his books, but here was one I never knew about - with a great cover to boot. (I am sucker for covers and this one had a giant chicken plus screaming, running people.) I'm in! And it did not disappoint. Very funny in that Pinkwater style where you form a bond with the misunderstood animal aka Henrietta and also the poor human called Arthur.
How hard can it be to hunt around and find a bird, any bird that can grace a Thanksgiving dinner in a place the size of Hoboken? And Off we go! I will not even comment on the crazy things that take place and the emotions of both chicken and human.
How hard can it be to hunt around and find a bird, any bird that can grace a Thanksgiving dinner in a place the size of Hoboken? And Off we go! I will not even comment on the crazy things that take place and the emotions of both chicken and human.
November 25, 2021
1. What a deceptive cover! Silly me, based on the cover art I assumed this story was going to escalate into a giant chicken with laser eyes destroying a city and that was not the case in any way. (Don't judge a book by its cover?)
2. I get that humor is subjective but I had seen this book on several lists of "funny read-alouds" or "hilarious chapter books" but it wasn't really that funny. We've read many books in the past that have been laugh-out-loud funny, but this one was certainly not hilarious. Pleasant, sure, and a little ridiculous as far as the premise goes, but I think I expected escalating hi-jinks and more laughs.
Not a bad book by any means, but it was kind of forgettable. It was short and generally okay, so it might be a good fit for a reluctant reader.
2. I get that humor is subjective but I had seen this book on several lists of "funny read-alouds" or "hilarious chapter books" but it wasn't really that funny. We've read many books in the past that have been laugh-out-loud funny, but this one was certainly not hilarious. Pleasant, sure, and a little ridiculous as far as the premise goes, but I think I expected escalating hi-jinks and more laughs.
Not a bad book by any means, but it was kind of forgettable. It was short and generally okay, so it might be a good fit for a reluctant reader.
January 2, 2020
Once in awhile you need to read books published many years ago and I did just that by reading The Hoboken Chicken Emergency. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it.
When Arthur goes to pick up the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner he finds there are no more turkeys available. He buys a chicken instead, a live big chicken! His mother does not want to cook a live chicken so he is able to keep Henrietta, the chicken, as a pet. Arthur teaches Henrietta a few tricks to impress his friends. When Henrietta escapes his home there is chaos in the streets of Hoboken. Arthur needs to get his pet chicken back and save the people of Hoboken. Will he succeed?
When Arthur goes to pick up the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner he finds there are no more turkeys available. He buys a chicken instead, a live big chicken! His mother does not want to cook a live chicken so he is able to keep Henrietta, the chicken, as a pet. Arthur teaches Henrietta a few tricks to impress his friends. When Henrietta escapes his home there is chaos in the streets of Hoboken. Arthur needs to get his pet chicken back and save the people of Hoboken. Will he succeed?
February 18, 2020
I have fond childhood memories of this book and enjoyed reading it out loud to my kids-- but the feminist in me had to "gloss" some of it as I read. It's not just that it would fail the Bechdel test-- only female characters are his mom and the chicken. It's more that the city council, nameless/faceless folks, can still be addressed as "gentlemen." It's probably good for me to realize that it's not *that* long ago that it was unimaginable to have a woman in local government-- but it's not like kiddos are reading this and thinking about the historical context. The book reads mostly like it's in-the-present, and I kind of wish it were updated very mildly to reflect that.
October 17, 2021
I was surprised to read that someone had emailed the chicken catcher since I knew this book had been written in the 70s. Then I realized I was reading an "updated version". I wish I had the original. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more.
For parents concerned about content: Words like dumb chicken, idiot dog, silly boy, and hateful cousins are used
Arthur the main character sneaks out of the house a couple of times against his parents' wishes. He thinks about bribing his siblings. He says that he could "never really forgive his father". Someone smokes a cigar and the robot chicken smokes a cigarette.
For parents concerned about content: Words like dumb chicken, idiot dog, silly boy, and hateful cousins are used
Arthur the main character sneaks out of the house a couple of times against his parents' wishes. He thinks about bribing his siblings. He says that he could "never really forgive his father". Someone smokes a cigar and the robot chicken smokes a cigarette.
October 31, 2017
What happens when there are no turkeys left in Hoboken and a young boy has to bring something, any bird, home to for his mother to cook for holiday dinner?
A 266 pound chicken is what happens. But Henrietta is much more (and a little less) than a holiday turkey replacement. Through her antics we see the world as Arthur Bobowicz sees it - the other kids, the dogs, the adults that live in the apartments around him.
This is an oldie that still has the power to make me laugh. I had so much fun rereading it with my son!
A 266 pound chicken is what happens. But Henrietta is much more (and a little less) than a holiday turkey replacement. Through her antics we see the world as Arthur Bobowicz sees it - the other kids, the dogs, the adults that live in the apartments around him.
This is an oldie that still has the power to make me laugh. I had so much fun rereading it with my son!
August 28, 2019
I had never heard of this book, and when I found it in a little free library, my daughter, knowing that I like to read children’s books, told me I should get it because it was a good one. What a delight it was. The premise of coarse, is absolutely ridiculous - a 266 pound chicken on the rampage, pursued by all the city of officials, police, fire department, dogcatcher, until the once placid, now terrified, Henrietta rebells, and causes havoc. Can her friend, nine year old Arthur intervene and save Henrietta and the city of Hoboken?
April 6, 2021
3.5 rounded up.
A kid's book can be a wonderful place to go. I work at a library shelving/pulling books. So I see (and read or just page through) a lot of books, from basic picture books through adult nonfiction.
Not sure if I got a kick out of the book itself or just return-to-childhood book. This is an older book I found in discards, doubt current kids could relate well. But it was fun, hence the rounding up.
Don't so much expect you to go find this chapter book as to remember - there's not an area in any library that doesn't have a great reading experience for adults.
A kid's book can be a wonderful place to go. I work at a library shelving/pulling books. So I see (and read or just page through) a lot of books, from basic picture books through adult nonfiction.
Not sure if I got a kick out of the book itself or just return-to-childhood book. This is an older book I found in discards, doubt current kids could relate well. But it was fun, hence the rounding up.
Don't so much expect you to go find this chapter book as to remember - there's not an area in any library that doesn't have a great reading experience for adults.
January 10, 2019
Short, simple, silly and sweet. One of the most remarkable things is how Henrietta could be so easily trained, given her 266-pound size. And although not always on board, the Bobowicz parents are to be commended for their open-mindedness in allowing such a large pet in their home. I'm glad the author made Henrietta such a sympathetic character. I'd love to take a ride in the mayor's new semi-official limousine as well.
April 11, 2022
I was recently handed over our church library, as the lady that started and managed it moved away. I grit my teeth over the Christian fiction (absolutely NOT Stasia's cup of tea), but the kids books? That I can get into. So while doing some sorting, I came across this, and HOW HAVE I NEVER READ THIS BEFORE?! Stinking hilarious. Substance to it? Absolutely not. But a hoot? Absolutely. If I set up a 'the librarian recommends...' this book is getting the first plate.
April 4, 2023
Very silly, sometimes in a funny way, sometimes in an absurd way, but always telling the a recognizable story. In the second half we stop following the main character for a little light political satire, which picked up the story a little, but also made it feel a little more disconnected, like it became a book of short stories about what happened to Hoboken in the face of an oversized chicken. But it did, surprisingly, have a sweet, true-to-life moral that I enjoyed.
January 24, 2019
This book came highly recommended. I enjoyed it . . . except the writing's at that 3rd-4th grade level that, for me, just doesn't quite hold up to an adult reader. The story's great--absurd, touching--but it didn't make me laugh. Nonetheless, the premise is pretty hilarious, and I definitely think children around that age will adore this story of Arthur and Henrietta.
September 24, 2020
What a great cover on this reprint (2007). Not only are there new illustrations for this classic tale, but the text has been changed (may be text from the 1999 revision) from the original. There’s a good message about not prejudging on first encounter and to treat others with kindness and appreciation. And, of course, it’s got a chicken. Who doesn’t love chickens!
January 24, 2024
If you have not read this delightful book yourself, or read it to your children, you are missing something. It’s the story of a little boy who sits out to find a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner and ends up with Henrietta, a 263 pound chicken, who becomes his pet, but scares the people of the town. Very enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews