Chicken Little, whose fears are triggered by an earthbound acorn to believe "the sky is falling," turns heroic by the end of this upbeat, exuberantly illustrated retelling of a classic.
Chicken Little skips off to market to buy ingredients for his mother to bake a cake. When a bop on the head interrupts his errand, he rushes to tell the king and meets the traveling companions of the traditional tale. Exquisitely detailed pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations conjure an old-fashioned village whose inhabitants wear proper attire even to sweep the front walk or head out for a stroll. A two-page spread of Chicken Little, Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky and Turkey Lurkey about to cross a nearby stream (to Piggy Wiggy, Rabbit Babbit, Natty Ratty, Froggy Woggy and Roley and Poly Moley--but no Cocky Locky or Goosey Loosey in Byrd's version) brims with enticing details: a bridge adorned with fish sculptures, and dragonflies and butterflies hovering over lily pads. Foxy Loxy remains the villain ("Good day and cheers! Where are you off to, my scrumptious little dears?" says he), and successfully leads them back to his house. But here the story takes a turn: after Foxy Loxy shoves his "guests" into the dark cellar, they band together and outsmart their captor.
Byrd leaves it to readers to decide whether the feathered hero truly believed the sky was falling. What matters is that he was smart enough to convince Foxy Loxy and save his friends. A sumptuously illustrated reinterpretation of a delicious read-aloud. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness