Blue Chicken

An almost-perfectly realized barnyard painting sits waiting for its final touches, when one of the chickens depicted therein breaks free and decides to help, upsetting the pot of blue paint in the process, and coloring everything the wrong shade. Can she set things right, when all of the other creatures come complaining...?

A meta-fictional barnyard tale, Blue Chicken is a book I found more appealing from a visual perspective, than from a textual one. In fact, I think it would work quite well as a wordless picture-book, so clearly do the paintings communicate the story of the chicken and her accidental experiment with the color blue. That said, this was still an engaging title, one I would recommend to young would-be artists, as well as show more to those looking for picture-books of a meta-fictional nature. show less

A meta book where the subjects of an artist's drawing of a farm try to finish the painting by getting into the paint pots. The animals are joyfully rendered, with lots of movement and expression.

Blue Chicken is an interesting book. The story begins with what looks like a picture someone is painting. Then the chicken comes off the page to help. The chicken spills the blue paint and now the chicken, ducks, cow and everything has been splattered blue. The chicken cleans up the blue with water, but leaves the sky in the picture blue. The story ends as it begins with a perfect day to paint the barn. However, now instead of painting the barn drawn down on the page someone is outside painting a real barn.
The story had a very interesting concept that I am curious to know how young children would react to it.

This book was gorgeous.

I loved the use of color and how the story integrated the artwork, rather than just being supplemented by it. I thought it was adorable and fun, and while this one didn't really have a "message" or anything (other than water is the great "Undo" with watercolors), it was still a book I very much enjoyed.

I love realistic watercolors and this is a wonderful book for showcasing that kind of art. We begin with a half-finished painting of a farmyard scene. The barn is penciled in, ready to be painted with the brush nearby. All seems firmly set in "real life" until one of the chickens IN the painting steps over to a pot of blue paint and decides to "help" by painting the barn blue. The paint spills and now she's got a big problem! The other animals in the painting come to life and we're quickly immersed in a pretend world that's darn cute.

Meta-fiction.  Wonderfully cute and funny - but I also got from it the message that we shouldn't be timid, but should be always ready to have fun.  It's difficult to see what's going on from a thumbnail of the cover - don't dismiss it based on that.

A small lesson on what can happen when you touch things you shouldn't is hidden inside this book. You could also glean a lesson on how it's not always helpful to be helpful if you are a chicken! Cute pictures accompany a story with an ending I did not expect.