by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 30, 2010

It's a very strange book. Denys Cazet draws a simple ink and watercolor drawing of giant hen walking through her neighborhood. She passes the fruit stand and the bakery, and even two rabbits who are trying to sell lemonade. But then she's spotted by a tricky fox - being groomed at a barber shop called Green Al's (that's run by a crocodile). The fox licks his chops, deciding that he plans to eat his talking neighbor, the giant hen. And as she passes by, he says "Lucky me!"

It's a weird mix of talking animals and predatory instincts. The fox pursues the hen down the city street while wearing an overcoat with a carnation and a shady top hat. He passes a newsstand - staffed by a giant bird - where there's also sitting an even bigger bulldog. And then the bulldog decides he'd like to eat the chicken himself...and also the fox. So as the two of them pass, he also announces:  "Lucky me."

"Cluck!" says the hen...

Personally, I liked the weirdness of the story, but I wonder if some readers will be confused by all of the city references. ("If they all live in the city, then wouldn't they all be shopping at grocery stores - or at least, eating out at restaurants after they were all through with their day jobs?") At the entrance to a warehouse, there's a sliding door, some heavy boxes, and an enormous mountain lion with a growling stomach. But soon he's being stalked himself, along with the other animals, by a very hungry bear who just woken up from his winter's nap.

This book has something special to recommend it: it's funny in a different way. For example, Denys Cazet gives his animals appropriate names - like Sharpclaws and Munchandcrunch for the mountain lion and bear - while the slick fox who hunts Marie the chicken is named: Flashy Jake. And there's one more name to come, when the bear corners all the animals at the city park. He sits on a family of red ants, and the name of the family of ants is "If you sit on us we will bite you where you sit."

Which they do...

There's several funny illustrations of the chaos that ensues, but the story ultimately ends the way it began. There's a giant talking hen who's walking down the sidewalk, where she spots the two rabbits who'd tried to sell her lemonade. She gives them a doughnut she'd got from the bakery, and the two rabbits say: "Lucky us."

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.