Earthquack! - Marge Palatini

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

02 Jul 2007 11:45 PM

I thoroughly enjoyed discovering Marge Palatini a few weeks ago. What a sense of humor! "Earthquack!" is her updated take on the old "Chicken Little" story we all know so well.

Chucky Ducky had just finished his morning swim and was letting the water roll off his back when he heard a rumbling sound and discovered that the earth was crumbling right beneath his little yellow webbed feet. Deciding it must be an earthquake, he set off to warn his friends.

First on his list was Lucy Goosey. "The earth is crumbling!" he tells her, and she's not sure if she should believe him or not, until the earth rumbles again, right under them. She became a believer pretty quickly - amazing how fast people change their minds when evidence is presented to them.

The two ran off to warn their friends of the quake. As they reached the barnyard, they bumped into Vickie, Nickie, and Rickie Chickie. Always skeptical, those chicks, they didn't believe either until they felt it for themselves. Then they jumped right on the hysteria bandwagon and went along to warn Brewster Rooster.

Sue Ewe and Nanny Goat, Iggy Piggy and Merle Squirrel aren't so easily convinced. In fact, Iggy Piggy pronounces it all to be hogwash. But it's not long before they change their tune, when the rumbling starts again.

Meanwhile, a weasel (going by the name of Herman Ermine) hiding in a nearby thicket decides to take advantage of the commotion to restock his larder. As he lures the animals into his hole, the real cause of the rumbling is revealed - and it turns out Chucky Ducky was all wet.

Children will enjoy this story and cute pictures, while parents will groan at the silly puns.

(This book was published in 2002 by Simon and Schuster, and was illustrated by Barry Moser.)

Related Blogs:

The Children's Picture Books of Marge Palatini

Chimps Don't Wear Glasses

Children's Picture Books by Kathy Mallat

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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