"In a rhyming memoir "as told to" Kelley (The Lucky Lizard), scrivener Pauline Poulet dodges a hungry farmer and other predators before finally making her way to a safe petting zoo. Pauline's perils begin in a shadowy wooden barn, where she and her unhappy peers dispense eggs onto a conveyor belt. But eggs aren't the only thing on the menu, for "round my roost I hear suspicious/ words like 'Chicken pie, delicious.'/ Has Farmer hatched a crafty plan/ to throw me in a frying pan?" Pauline scoots out via a hole in the shed, but soon encounters a ravenous fox and then a band of pirate cats. When her foes make her "flinch and flail," and when she "face[s] the fearsome typhoon's wail," she solaces herself by clucking, "Pauline, prevail!" Like the heroine, Kelley's couplets sally forth unstoppably; Pauline's breathless narration amplifies each exhilarating twist and turn. Slack, in his children's book debut, likewise dispenses with subtleties: Pauline's popping pink eyes are aptly ovoid, her breast heaves and her brown feathers fly as her pursuers drool. Using a jewel-toned palette, Slack has created a grotesquerie of villains and settings that more than equals Kelley's verse in its enthusiasm. In this manic epic, "life as a chicken" means one mad dash after another to avoid the dinner plate. Ages 3-7." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"'In a rhyming memoir 'as told to' Kelley (The Lucky Lizard), scrivener Pauline Poulet dodges a hungry farmer and other predators before finally making her way to a safe petting zoo. Pauline's perils begin in a shadowy wooden barn, where she and her unhappy peers dispense eggs onto a conveyor belt. But eggs aren't the only thing on the menu, for 'round my roost I hear suspicious/ words like 'Chicken pie, delicious.'/ Has Farmer hatched a crafty plan/ to throw me in a frying pan?' Pauline scoots out via a hole in the shed, but soon encounters a ravenous fox and then a band of pirate cats. When her foes make her 'flinch and flail,' and when she 'face[s] the fearsome typhoon's wail,' she solaces herself by clucking, 'Pauline, prevail!' Like the heroine, Kelley's couplets sally forth unstoppably; Pauline's breathless narration amplifies each exhilarating twist and turn. Slack, in his children's book debut, likewise dispenses with subtleties: Pauline's popping pink eyes are aptly ovoid, her breast heaves and her brown feathers fly as her pursuers drool. Using a jewel-toned palette, Slack has created a grotesquerie of villains and settings that more than equals Kelley's verse in its enthusiasm. In this manic epic, 'life as a chicken' means one mad dash after another to avoid the dinner plate. Ages 3-7.' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

This silly chicken is in hot pursuit of a home.

When Pauline Poulet learns she'll be the next special of the day at Cock-a-Doodle Caf, she flies the coop. Thus begins her journey of peril and catastrophe, courage and chance. Full color.

When Pauline Poulet learns she'll be the next special of the day at Cock-a-Doodle-Doo Café, she flies the coop faster than you can say "Chicken pie, delicious"! Thus begins her journey of peril and catastrophe, courage and chance: She is chased. She is dunked. She is tossed tail over beak. But can Pauline escape the dinner plate?      Kids everywhere will love clucking along with this chicken's battle cry: "Pauline, prevail!"