The Chicken Thief is a children’s book, but we love it

We were in the library the other day when I stumbled across The Chicken Thief by Beatrice Rodriguez.   It’s a funny shaped book that’s more rectangular than most, has a cute bunny on the back cover  and Toddler Mojo was ready to go.  As a toddler tantrum was about to happen I checked out and didn’t pay the book any attention until I got home.

We glanced over The Chicken Thief once at home and I couldn’t put it down.  I ‘read’ it three times, once to Baby Mojo and twice just for myself.  ‘Read’ because, The Chicken Thief is a wordless book that is filled with the cutest illustrations this side of Patrick McDonnell of Mutts.

The Chicken Thief starts out with a bear, rabbit and rooster waking up to have some breakfast when a fox comes in a grabs a chicken.  The fox leads the three of them on a chase through the forest, up a mountain, over the sea (where they use the bear as a boat) until they reach the tree where the fox lives.  As with all children’s books, it has a happy ending with the fox and the chicken knowing each other, apparently they’re a couple.

So why was the chicken frightened at the start of the story? Didn’t the rooster have any idea about this?  Don’t bother the adult mind with questions, just look back at the lush illustrations and roll with the story.

If you’re a fan of Mutts, this artwork will really appeal to you.  Its background is sparse, with just enough detail to let the mind fill in the blanks.  The characters are all very simple, but have so much expression in their faces that you can really get lost in this wordless picture book that’s meant for kids.

The Chicken Thief is appropriate for children aged 3 and up.  Toddler Mojo is only 17 months, but he loves the pictures, laughs when I do voices for the characters and can sit still through the entire book.   The parents will also like the book because the illustrations make you smile.  The book is drawn is such a soft way that you’ll even look at it again when the little one isn’t around.  It’s even ok to look at the book if you don’t have little ones, it’s that cute.

This is the first in a series by Enchanted Lion Press called Stories Without Words.  Their next release is called Ice and will be out in March 2011.