Starla Jean: Which Came First: The Chicken or the Friendship?

A wide-eyed and determined child finds a peckish new friend at the park (much to her family's chagrin) in this playful beginning chapter book from Elana K. Arnold (Red Hood; What Riley Wore) and A.N. Kang (My Big Bad Monster).

A bicycle ride through the neighborhood with her father leads young Starla Jean to discover a chicken scritch-scratching among some trees. "If you can catch it, you can keep it!" her father declares cavalierly. The resolute Starla Jean surprises "the skinniest, ugliest chicken I had ever seen!"--not to mention her bewildered father--when she triumphantly carries home the captured feathered friend. With good-natured humor and copious BAWKing, Starla Jean and the skeptical subject of her admiration, dubbed Opal Egg, settle into family introductions and exploits that lay the scene for subsequent books in the series.

Cheery first-person text conveys Starla Jean's sprightly personality, her confiding tone peppered with dialogue that includes her parents and neighbors. Boisterous illustrations on each spread accompany minimal text on most pages, and page layouts and perspectives vary pleasingly throughout four well-paced chapters. Soft lines and the muted palette of the artwork are lightened further by substantial white space and generous margins, a thoughtful overall design that should suit emerging readers.

Versatile author Arnold capably expands her reach into yet another format, while Kang's work lends a comical exuberance to Starla Jean's steely resolve. "Starla Jean can do anything she puts her mind to," says a neighbor--it will be a treat to see what adventures Starla Jean and Opal Egg scratch up next. --Kit Ballenger, youth librarian, Help Your Shelf

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