Reviews

Chicken of the Sea by Viet Thanh Nguyen

sarahbowman101's review

4.0

There are two stories here but both with the same idea: don't be a chicken! Bravery comes in all shapes and forms and this story written by a novelist's kid and illustrated by an artist's kid is truly delightful. Sometimes you gotta take a chance and leave the farm behind.

erine's review

4.0

Chickens and pirates seem to be a natural pairing. This is made even better by the fact that it was written by a five-year-old. The humor is on point and ridiculously delightful.

Would be a fantastic introduction to story writing and creation.

lmurray74's review

5.0

This book is the brainchild of Viet Thanh Nguyen's son (story) and Thi Bui's son (illustrations). This book puts a big smile on my face. The story is just like a child might tell it and it has a happy ending all around. Ellison Nguyen (named after Ralph Ellison) was inspired to write the story after attending an artist's retreat when he was four. He met Thi Bui and Bao Phi at this event and A Different Pond is one of Ellison's favorite books. This inspired his own storytelling. Pirates arrive at the chicken's farm and asks for volunteers for his crew. 'Chicken-Are you willing? Or are you CHICKEN?" The chicken join the crew and become Chicken of the Sea. The chicken are told gold is the greatest treasure in the world. "You may know what gold is, but we didn't...because we're CHICKENS." The crew go to the island of the Dog Knights and a fight ensues that ends in a truce and a big party. The captain says the chickens are terrible pirates and they reply "That's because we're chicken. And that's a good thing". The illustrations are the work of Thi Bui's son Hien. The brightly colored pages are filled with action and good humor. It's simply a joy to read and will put a smile on anyone's face.

astropheems's review against another edition

I bought a bunch of children's books for my friends kids this holiday season and I feel silly adding to my goodreads stats, but hey! A book is a book! This is the cutest book of being brave and also being ok about being chicken and who you see. Collaboration by some of my favorite Viet author and illustrator and their respective children.

circleofreadersdruid's review

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Pirates and chickens and dog knights, oh my! I love how absolutely silly this book is.