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A review by corncobwebs
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater
Arthur Bobowicz is instructed by his mother to pick up the family's Thanksgiving turkey. But the butcher lost Mrs. Bobowicz's order, and has no extra turkeys to spare. Arthur trudges around Hoboken, first trying to find a turkey, and then trying to find ANY kind of bird his family could eat for Thanksgiving. Almost ready to give up, Arthur stumbles upon a sign on an apartment door advertising chickens for sale. Arthur thinks it must be some kind of shady meat vendor, but he's desperate. When he enters the apartment, he realizes that it belongs to a mad scientist, and that the chickens for sale aren't ordinary chickens - they're huge mutant chickens. The scientist convinces Arthur to buy Henrietta, a 266-pound mass of poultry. It doesn't take Arthur long to realize that, though she's huge, she's also incredibly sweet and docile. He quickly develops a soft spot for her, and by the time he returns home he's prepared to ask his family if they can keep her as a pet rather than eat her for Thanksgiving dinner. His father acquiesces, the family has meatloaf for Thanksgiving, and Arthur has a giant chicken for a pet.
All goes well for a while - Arthur teaches Henrietta tricks, and she sleeps by his bed every night. But when she causes the slightest disturbance in the Bobowicz house, Mr. Bobowicz insists that Arthur must take her back to where she came from. But when the scientist refuses, Henrietta grabs an opportunity to escape, running pell-mell through the streets of Hoboken. Now a 266 pound chicken is on the loose, and people are terrified. They don't realize that Henrietta is harmless; they're just afraid of what they don't know, and treat her horribly as a result of their fear and ignorance. The unkindness makes Henrietta into a surly menace, and she stomps around Hoboken destroying property and terrifying anyone who crosses her path. Will Arthur be able to get back the sweet Henrietta he knows and loves?
Very funny story that's a great metaphor for how irrational fear can make people do stupid things. I think there's a lot of irrational fear and mistrust in the world today that's the result of ignorance. While silly, this book sends the message that treating everyone with kindness and respect can go a long way in abating that fear and mistrust. An important message for anyone of any age, at any point in history.
All goes well for a while - Arthur teaches Henrietta tricks, and she sleeps by his bed every night. But when she causes the slightest disturbance in the Bobowicz house, Mr. Bobowicz insists that Arthur must take her back to where she came from. But when the scientist refuses, Henrietta grabs an opportunity to escape, running pell-mell through the streets of Hoboken. Now a 266 pound chicken is on the loose, and people are terrified. They don't realize that Henrietta is harmless; they're just afraid of what they don't know, and treat her horribly as a result of their fear and ignorance. The unkindness makes Henrietta into a surly menace, and she stomps around Hoboken destroying property and terrifying anyone who crosses her path. Will Arthur be able to get back the sweet Henrietta he knows and loves?
Very funny story that's a great metaphor for how irrational fear can make people do stupid things. I think there's a lot of irrational fear and mistrust in the world today that's the result of ignorance. While silly, this book sends the message that treating everyone with kindness and respect can go a long way in abating that fear and mistrust. An important message for anyone of any age, at any point in history.