Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken

by Kate DiCamillo

Book Overview

She longed for adventure. So she left her home and ventured out into the wide world. The pleasures and perils she met proved plentiful: marauding pirates on the majestic seas, a ferocious lion under the bright lights of the big top, a mysterious stranger in an exotic and bustling bazaar. Yet in the face of such daunting danger, our heroine . . . She was brave. She was fearless. She was feathered. She was a chicken. A not-so-chicken chicken. Her name?...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060755547
• ISBN13: 9780060755546
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 56 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.2" x 11.4"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Adventures

This book is layed out as a picture book with 4 chapters for good stopping points for intregue and seperation of tales. Louise does some amazing adventures with respect to each type mixing a few steriotypical dreams and what would happen if a chicken waltzed right into them. Very good for littles all the way up through 5th grade. Great for teachers looking to have writting assignment spin off's. Loved it, all the stars.

a plucky hen!

a plucky hen yearning for adventure, and also learning to appreciate the comforts of home. Love it!

A Kate DiCamillo Book for Younger Children

In this book Kate DiCamillo -- Newbery Winner and National Book Award finalist -- joins forces with Harry Bliss -- award winning illustrator of "Diary of a Worm" and the New Yorker magazine-- to produce a lighthearted book about a hen that longs for adventure, and gets it! Those familiar with Kate DiCamillo know that while her books appear to be fables for young children, that they often have a dark side that makes them better targeted to the middle school and up crowd. With "Louise" however, there was only one grim moment, where a pirate was sucked down into the ocean, and it was handled well enough that I had no problem reading this book to my 6 year old son and his older sister. As for the message, I would say that there were two. The first is that while adventure is exciting and interesting, that it is equally wonderful to be safe at home with your family and friends. The second message is not going to be something that children as young as mine are going to fully understand: it's the assertion that reading and hearing about an adventure is as good as living it. 4.5 Stars. My children LOVED this book. They thought the story was great, and they howled with laughter at some of Louise' antics; although there are assuredly some references, like the one to Bogart and the African Queen, that only adults will get. Pam T~ mom and reviewer for BooksforKids-Reviews.com

She longed for adventure.

When you're young, it still feels like anything can and might happen to you. Adventures peek out from under the horizon, big and fantastical ones that could make you feel more in control of your own destiny, more seasoned as a person, or like you're having more fun than you would be just sitting at home. Louise is like that. She's a chicken who wants to experience "true adventure" and leaves home to discover what it really is. Her adventures are familiar in theory (pirates, the circus, faraway lands) and yet full of the unexpected when actually realized. There are dark moments and funny ones, often on the same page and in both the text and illustrations. The reader is privy to an understated version of the emotions and thoughts that run through Louise's mind as she seeks out "true adventure". Without a lot of exclamation points and hardly any exposition, Louise's story is quietly satisfying.