Brand-new readers will get a kick out of this I Can Read! Level 2 story about a poor chicken who just wants to help. Friends Earl and Pearl are planting pumpkins, but every time they turn around there's a big white chicken. The word shoo becomes an integral part of the text, as the kids try to get rid of the chicken as they plant and water. Then one day the grasshoppers come, and no matter how Earl and Pearl try to shoo them away, these nibblers hold their ground and pose a problem for the pumpkins. Enter the chicken, who with flapping wings has a much more effective shooing style. The text is as simple as it can be, but together with the amusing ink-and-watercolor art, all sorts of emotions are aired: annoyance, dejection, frustration, and jubilation when the pumpkins are spared. An amusing choice for new readers.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2008 Booklist

K-Gr 2-When Earl and Pearl start a pumpkin patch, they often need to shoo Chicken out of the way, but she is determined to help. In the end, when grasshoppers begin to "nibble, nibble" on the growing pumpkins, Chicken's refrain of "Cluck! Cluck! Cluck" saves the day. This easy reader has short sentences, a variety of verb tenses, and vowel and consonant blends and digraphs. Difficult words such as "garden," "chicken," and "pumpkin" are repeated several times. Emergent readers may chime in with their own "Shoo, Shoos" and "Cluck, Cluck." The funny, expressive pen-and-ink drawings support the reading with simple clarity, e.g., "Earl watered the seeds" is the caption for an illustration of the boy with a huge watering can, Chicken hovering nearby. This could be an opportune time to introduce a September lesson on grasshoppers while they're easily found or wait for October's pumpkins.-Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From first-time author Grant, a satisfying story with conflict and resolution, action and emotion, in an I Can Read aimed at the earliest of emerging readers. Friends Earl and Pearl set out to grow pumpkins, but a pesky chicken's constant scratching in the dirt threatens their project. "'Shoo!' said Earl. 'Shoo! Shoo!' said Pearl. 'Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!' said Chicken." Finally, the dejected Chicken is banished from the garden -- until, one day, a horde of grasshoppers descends upon the pumpkin patch. Now the shoo is on the other foot as the children try unsuccessfully to chase the pumpkin-nibbling invaders away. Enter Chicken, who dispatches the grasshoppers with a few authoritative clucks and saves the day/pumpkins. "'Hooray!' said Earl. 'Hooray! Hooray!' said Pearl. 'Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!' said Chicken." The book's careful accumulating structure ("Earl gave Chicken one pumpkin. Pearl gave Chicken two pumpkins"), repeated refrain, and controlled yet piquant vocabulary are all big plusses for new readers. Truesdell's pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations provide humor, characterization, and action (see Chicken abject with rejection! See Chicken make like a jet after the routed grasshoppers! See Chicken take a bow!). In all, a gift for emerging readers -- and not just during pumpkin season. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.