Another review of Another Chicken Story: The Stranger Danger
Doogie Duck is a detective duck. When asked why the chicken crossed the road, he wasn’t thinking about the riddle, but the actual chicken who disappeared because he crossed the road. Doogie looked everywhere, but it was finally his encounter with the mysterious, sly fox that gave him his clues. And even clever Doogie Duck was almost lured by the fox’s tricks. Just in time, Doogie recognized the fox as the one who made the chicken disappear and, if he wasn’t smart, Doogie was about to disappear, too. Thankfully, Doogie was smart and he saved himself from the wily fox. Even Doogie had been lured, but he learned his lesson and he is more than willing to share it with all of us: “He’s warning that you shouldn’t talk to a stranger,/ to do so might possibly put you in danger. And don’t you be fooled by how nicely he talks/ because any stranger could be like the fox.” Sage advice from a very smart duck. Kenneth R. McClelland’s picture book, Another Chicken Story: The Stranger Danger, teaches young readers the valuable and important lesson: don’t trust strangers, don’t talk to strangers, don’t go anywhere with strangers, don’t take anything from strangers. We can’t teach our young people this lesson often enough. There are too many temptations in the world around us and it’s too easy for children to forget on the spur of the moment. This lesson is told in rhyme with colorful illustrations to carry the story along. It’s both attractively and effectively presented, a clever story with a little bit of humor. The lesson is taught in a lighthearted manner so as not to frighten young readers, but to reinforce what has already been taught. This is a story with a little bit of mystery, to be enjoyed and shared frequently, and the lesson re-taught over and over again.
