The Silly Chicken (Idries Shah)

ISBN: 9781883536503
Author: Idries Shah; Illustrated by Jeff Jackson
Publisher: Hoopoe Books (2005)
Pages: 32 Binding: Paperback

Description from the publisher:

A delightful and humorous tale about a chicken who learns to speak as we do. What follows will intrigue young children and, at the same time, alert them in a very amusing way to the dangers of being too gullible.This is illustrator / animator Jeff Jackson’s first children’s book. It expresses his unique ability to create a lively and amusing world, rich in color and in which anything can happen.“...this quirky, good-natured fable, with bright, aptly comical pictures, ably illustrates the maxim, it’s important not to believe everything you hear.”--Booklist

“Set in the Middle East, Shah’s retelling of a Sufi story sends a gentle message to readers: just because someone says it’s so, does not make it so. A silly chicken that a wise man teaches to speak tells the people, ‘The earth is going to swallow us up!’ After several panicked and humorously illustrated attempts to escape the earth, the people return to their village and question the chicken about where he got his information. Of course, he hasn’t the slightest idea what he’s talking about. With its simple language and repeating phrases, the story begs to be told, and Jackson’s colorful pastel illustrations lend a zany accent to the antics. It’s a classic case of ‘the sky is falling’ from an ancient culture, and it still has the ring of truth today.”--School Library Journal