BUSY CHICKENS
by John Schindel & photographed by Steven Holt
“Busy, busy chickens. What are they doing?” They’re walking and squawking, peeking and sneaking, flapping and napping—among other participle pairs, eight in all. Holt’s engaging photographs illustrate chickens in each mode, from “ ‘aww’-inspiring fuzzy chicks to wildly top-knotted grown-ups. As fowl go, this is a remarkably expressive group, aided and abetted by clever compositions and wily use of exposure times—that zooming chicken really looks like she’s pouring it on. Visually busy, these photographs are for older babies. The crisp rhymes introduce a deceptively rich vocabulary that is subtly assisted by appropriately playful typography in a clearly legible sans-serif typeface printed in contrasting colors. A barnyard winner. (1-2)