LENA THE CHICKEN (BUT REALLY A DINOSAUR!)

One henhouse resident gets back to her roots.

Fiercely protective of her fellow fowl, Lena is one tough chicken. When the people who run the farm try to extract eggs from the coop, Lena henpecks them mercilessly. And when the hens are spooked by harmless things like boxes and frogs, Lena demands that they buck up. Unlike the other chickens, Lena understands something significant about her true nature. She’s a dinosaur, capable of terrifying intruders and protecting her kin. Her talents are brought to bear when a weasel sneaks into their pen one night. Lena’s primeval squawk sends the interloper scrambling, minus most of his whiskers. Finally, Lena’s skeptics, avian and human alike, appreciate her particular gift. An excellent opportunity for a dramatic read-aloud, the narration is paced in a fablelike style with sprinkles of jokey speech-bubble dialogue and a few scientific facts thrown in for good measure—chickens are indeed among the closest living relatives to theropods. Steele’s illustrations are a delightful match for Bailey’s story. Relying on loose, sketchy pencil drawings and splashes of watercolor that emphasize the narrative’s beats, she depicts overreactive hens huddled at the dinner table, a desultory weasel at his boudoir mirror, and a puzzled human family bandaging their chicken-caused injuries. Lena’s owners are tan-skinned and dark-haired.

A silly, skillful, and scientifically grounded tale.