Free Downloads Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?
We all know the joke. We've all told it. Kids love to tell it over and over and over again, with as many different punch lines as possible. And now we've found out that famous award-winning artists love to tell the joke too—and they have some wacky and downright hilarious ideas about why that chicken really did cross the road. Mo Willems's chicken confesses his motives to a police officer; David Shannon's chicken can drive a car; Marla Frazee's chicken is looking for a more luxurious coop; and Harry Bliss's chicken encounters aliens. And this is just the beginning. One thing is for sure—you won't cross this book without a good laugh!
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Dial Books; 1 edition (September 21, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0803730942
ISBN-13: 978-0803730946
Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.3 x 10.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #511,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #105 in Books > Children's Books > Humor > Cartoons #198 in Books > Children's Books > Humor > Jokes & Riddles #851 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Farm Animals
Age Range: 4 - 8 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 3
There are some jokes out there that are so classic they've passed the point where they're funny anymore. Knock-knock jokes fall into this category. Light bulb jokes too. And then there's the best one of them all. Why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road jokes. Boy oh boy you just can't make anyone laugh with one of those anymore, can you? Well that's the way my thinking would have gone had I not picked up a bizarre little picture book title by the same name. In this book fourteen different children's illustrators are each granted a two-page spread to offer their answer to this, the oldest of questions. No two answers are exactly alike and no two illustrators have styles even vaguely similar. It makes for a book that kids will adore, grown-ups will pore over, and insipient illustrators will want to keep very close at hand.So why did the chicken cross the road? The answer may surprise you. Marla Frazee, illustrator of things like "Roller Coaster", and the recent smash hit, "Walk On: A Guide For Babies", shows a determined chicken crossing a road away from a rain-soaked grey-skied chicken coop towards a blue-skied brightly colored fun-factory of a building. Her single thought: "duh". Turn the page and Mo Willems has taken an entirely different tack. In the gloom of a police department some hard-boiled cops are giving a very nervous chicken (note the number of eggs under its chair) the third degree. The chicken itself is insisting that "I just did it to get to the other side! Honest!". To one side a detective is pouring the contents of a significant looking charcoal bag onto a grill. The entire book is like this. David Shannon taps into a vein not dissimilar from his beloved "Duck On a Bike" to show us chicken at the wheel of a fancy red convertible.
An inspired idea: Get 14 leading kids' book illustratos to write the illustrate their punch line to the old chestnut of a riddle "Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road." It's like a series of knock-knock jokes: Rapid-fire visual and written humor that proceeds in wonderfully silly fashion, even if a few are not quite as clever as the others.The 14 2-page spreads are like a narrow window into each illustrator's style and sense of humor. While each is unique, there were more similarities than I would have imagined. A common theme was that the chicken crossed to join some wild or unexpected extravaganza unavailable on the current side of the road. This might be am ultra-chic (chick?) new chicken house (Frazee), a Victorian-era picnic lunch (somewhat dull, but a great tapestry-like picture by Jerry Pinkney), a Cubist/Gaugin inspired tropical oasis in the middle of a vegetable patch (Grandpre)), or simply a huge sandwich at "Lou's Diner Across the ROad." (Catrow).The best of the lot, I think, are those that subvert the traditional elements of the joke. Leave it to Mo Willems to picture a chicken in a police station, nervously insisyinh "I'm telling you guys, I just did it to get to the other side! Honest!" while, in a deft visual pun, another detective pours charcoal on a grill. David Shannon and Lynn Mussinger approach the question somewhat matter-of-factly: Shannon answers, "Because the light was green," with a chicken, pig, and cow joy-riding--to the joy of kids, and the shock and dismay of adults. Mussinger replies "because the light said 'walk,'" and shows an entire street full of chickens and chickens only, including police-chicken, shoppers coming from "Coopingdale's," and a tiny chicken on roller skates--even the crosswalk sign shows a chicken walking.
Cross Stitch: for Beginners - Cross Stitch Patterns - Cross Stitch Guide - Cross Stitch Explained for Starters (Cross Stitch Books for Dummies - Cross Stitch Tips - Cross Stitch 101) Chicken wings: 64 Simple and Delicious Chicken wing Recipes (chicken wings, chicken wing recipes, chicken wing cookbook, chicken wing recipe book) Chicken Coops: The Essential Chicken Coops Guide: A Step-By-Step Guide to Planning and Building Your Own Chicken Coop (Chicken Coops For Dummies, Chicken Coop Plans, How to Build a Chicken Coop) Easy Chicken Recipes Cookbook: Top 50 Mouth-Watering, Easy to Make Recipes Including Grilled Chicken Recipes, Baked Chicken Recipes, Chicken Soup Recipes, Chicken Thigh Recipes, and Many More! Chicken Coop Building: The Complete Beginners Guide To Chicken Coop Building - Discover Amazing Plan To Building The Perfect Chicken Coop! (Chicken Coops ... Coop Plans, How To Build A Chicken Coop) Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? Chicken Coop Building: Step by Step Guide for Beginners (Chicken Coop Building, Backyard Chickens, Chicken Coop Plans, Building Chicken Coops) DAMN! WHY DID I WRITE THIS BOOK TOO ( How to play THE GAME ) (DAMN! WHY DID I WRITE THIS BOOK? 2) Chicken Cookbook: Ultimate Chicken Cookbook with Delicious and Mouthwatering Chicken Recipes Chicken Coops : The Essential Chicken Coops Beginner's Guide: An Easy Step By Step Guide With Creative Ideas To Plan And Build Your First Chicken Coop ... Coop Plans,Farming,Raising Chickens) How Did We Find Out About Superconductivity (How Did We Find Out Series) Why Did He Stop Calling? Diagnose Why Men Grow Distant, Don't Commit, and Lose Interest - 14 Ways To Never Chase Again (Bring Out The Sass) Low Carb Chicken Slow Cooker Cookbook: 40 Easy and Delicious Low Carb Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes for Extreme Weight Loss Chicken Recipes From Heaven: 50 Quick, Easy & Delicious 30 Minute Chicken Recipes To Die For! Grilled Chicken 123: A Collection of 123 Grilled Chicken Recipes for Every Grilling Artists Easy Fried Chicken Cookbook: 50 Delicious Fried Chicken Recipes Fried Chicken Recipes: Recipes That Add A Twist To Our Favorite Chicken Dish (Quick & Easy Recipes) 400 BBQ Recipes: Barbecue sauces and dry rub recipes for bbq ribs, bbq pork shoulder, bbq pork chops, bbq chicken breast, bbq chicken drumsticks, and bbq steak The DASH Diet Chicken Cookbook: 30 Delicious Low Salt Chicken Recipes for Lowering Blood Pressure, Losing Weight and Improving Your Health Cheap & Best Chicken Coop Plan Guidance: Chicken Coop Plan Guidance
