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Also at The Burlington Book Festival

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Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken. CD. 19:24 min. with hardcover book. Live Oak Media. 2009. ISBN 978-1-43010-688-3. $28.95.
PreS-Gr 2—Pirates! Shipwrecks! Lion attacks! Chicken-napping! Louise is a chicken with a yen for adventure. She slips away from the humdrum world of the farm and sets out to sea, only to be captured by pirates and nearly fricasseed. Home sounds good, but adventure calls again as she joins the circus and does a daring high-wire act that ends with her nearly becoming a lion's lunch. Again the farm seems a safe retreat, but when you have drumsticks itching for adventure you know you'll be off again. This time our saucy French hen follows in the footsteps of classic adventurers such as Indiana Jones, visits a fortune-teller, is captured by a tall dark stranger, and frees fellow chickens so that they, too, can cluck free! When she returns home, she tells the other chickens of her adventures and they are appropriately impressed and horrified. Home is a welcome, safe, refuge—but can Louise really settle down there? This delightful feathered frolic by Kate DiCamillo (HarperCollins/Joanna Cotler Books, 2008) is masterfully performed by Barbara Rosenblat who reads the story with fine pacing and energy and creates unique personalities, voices, and accents for each character. Light background music and sound effects make this a treat for the ears as well as the imagination. As students enjoy the vocal presentation, they can also peruse Harry Bliss's hilarious illustrations, filled with quirky details (some of which only adults will catch). This fine feathered feast for eyes and ears will be enjoyed by those with a thirst for adventure.—Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA