Jez Alborough’s Six Little Chicks

The author of Hug and Duck In The Truck is back with a playful tale of some lucky, plucky little chicks!

Forget the three little pigs and think chicks; five little chicks to be precise, with one on the way. But it isn’t Mother Hen who saves the day.

In author/illustrator Jez Alborough’s Six Little Chicks (Barrons, $6.99, ages 2 and up), “The big bad fox is on the prowl.” And who but the ever alert owl is the first farm friend to sound the fox alarm. Despite all her valiant efforts to keep her offspring safe by having them play close to the chicken hut, Mother Hen must also pay attention to her soon-to-hatch egg. While protecting the egg, Mother Hen hears a “HONK HONK HONK!” from a slightly freaked-out fowl. Goose is warning her that “The big bad fox is on the loose.” After looking all around, Mother Hen must return to the egg.

Told in catchy rhyme, Six Little Chicks will entertain toddlers and pre-schoolers with its repetition of sounds like “click, clack, click,” “peck, peck, peck,” and “cheep, cheep, cheep.” Alborough’s artwork always manages to convey both wit and warmth. The animals’ facial expressions are worth the read alone. And while the tale may be a cautionary one, it’s also one of community because Owl and Goose help fend off the hungry fox from a potential feeding frenzy.

The real stars of the story are the five unassuming, playful, plucky and happy-go-lucky, chicks. They are indeed lucky when you find out how they stick it to the fox just in the nick of time! I’ll give no spoilers here, but I will recommend getting the book, an affordable paperback perfect for Easter, springtime and story time.

-Reviewed by Ronna Mandel