jiastar's Full Review: Patricia Polacco - Chicken Sunday
The summary
A young girl of Slavic heritage becomes "family" with two African-American boys and their grandmother(Miss Eula). They spend a lot of time together, even attending church together on Sundays(sometimes) despite being of different Christian sects.
Easter is approaching and the children want more than anything to be able to get Miss Eula an Easter Bonnet she has been admiring in the local hat-maker's(Mr. Kodinski) window. Realizing that they need more money to make that dream come true the children decide to approach Mr. Kodinski, in spite of being scared by his gruff demeanor, about perhaps earning the hat another way.
However, before they get a chance, they are erroneously accused of "egging" Mr Kodinski's shop door. Now they have to prove to him that they are good children and they decide to make him a gift - of Pysansky eggs. Touched by the gift, and their courage for coming back, Mr. Kodinski offers the children the chance to earn money by selling these lovely "Easter eggs" in his shop. And they earn more than enough for the hat -- but Mr. Kodinski tells them to keep their money and gives them the hat for Miss Eula.
The review
Patricia Polacco, as both author and illustrator, has given us all a gift with this story. It is taken, at least in part, from her childhood - from the people who shared their lives with her (the Washington family) when she was young.
The language is simple but eloquent. The emotional content is expressed without getting "sappy". This is a nice "read-aloud" book or a relatively easy read for the 2nd or 3rd grade set.
The illustrations are warm and homey. The colors are rich. And the faces - convey a full range of emotions. A nice touch, one that I haven't seen in other children's books is the inclusion of actual photographs of the people who inspired this tale(look for them in 4 of the drawings).
This makes a nice book for any child. I especially like the lessons taught in this book:
-- it touches on the customs of Slavic people by explaining how Pysansky eggs are made
-- it explores the almost outdated notion of the "good deed"
-- that people of different backgrounds, different faiths, can be friends
-- that love is something which goes beyond culture and color
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