How to Chat Chicken Book Review

How to Chat Chicken

Written by Dr. Nick Crumpton
Illustrated by Adrienne Barman
Published by What on Earth? Books

Mom's Review

How to Chat Chicken is a fun survey of how animals communicate. Divided by types of animals (primates, then somewhat familiar animals, and all the way down to insects), each page features a scene of animals exhibiting different behaviors and "speaking" with an onomatopoeic speech bubble that shows the sound the animal makes, a translation into English, and a caption explaining the communication.

The bright colors, cartoon format, and bold speech bubbles make this high-interest topic equally highly accessible. I like Crumpton's animal selection - he picks ones that are familiar enough but not necessarily common, like meerkats (remember Timon from The Lion King?). What looks to a young reader like a dauntingly large text at first glance becomes an ideally paced journey through the animal kingdom. Well-written and entertainingly illustrated, this informational text is a winner!

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