The Loopy Coop Hens: Pip's Trip by Janet Morgan Stoeke

I usually find picture book sized easy readers annoying - where do you shelve them? Who do you give them to? But Janet Morgan Stoeke could never annoy me. Everything she does is amazing!

Her new chicken series, Loopy Coop Hens, is as perfectly delightful and exquisitely simple as the Minerva Louise series. Midge, Dot, and Pip are three chickens who thirst for adventure. Or do they? Only Pip is brave enough to actually climb into the truck and go out into the world! It's an amazing adventure!

Until she realizes that, um, she didn't actually go anywhere. But her friends reassure her she was still brave - and they find a much better adventure right at home.

The large type and short, simple sentences, "Pip shuts her eyes. She hides. She waits." are perfect for a beginning reader, but Stoeke's combination of subtly humorous illustrations and tongue-in-cheek text makes this a fun read-aloud for toddlers as well.

Her chickens' silly, scared, and funny expressions are the stars of the story. Like her Minerva Louise characters, she puts an amazing amount of expression into the simple lines of the chickens' faces and bodies.

Verdict: Highly recommended - hand to parents with pre-readers and read aloud to toddlers. The story is divided into chapters, which beginning readers will love!

ISBN: 9780803737082; Published January 2012 by Dial; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library