Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates
He’s back! Our bucktoothed hero is at it again, only this time he’s outsmarting a bunch of crazed chicken pirates. Crazed chicken pirates who happen to travel by hot-air balloon. And who repeat the word “Bowk!” a lot. Why? Because “bowk” is fun to say. Don’t believe me? Say it now.
BOWK.
Fun, right?
But the real hero of this particular story is John Manders, whose illustrations practically hop right off the page. If you loved the illustrations he did for the first book, definitely check out this book!
I adore the teddy bear that’s tucked away on the pirate ship. See if you can find it!
Awards
- Winner of Montana’s 2011 Treasure State award!
“Youngsters will cheer for humble Henry, who becomes a hero because he is so carefully prepared. With kids riding high on pirate books, this follow-up to Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies (Candlewick, 2005) will find a place in most collections.” —School Library Journal
“Young Henry is worried when he finds a threatening note, signed ‘Bowk! yer worst enemies.’ Bookish Henry, wearing his Parrot Poop helmet—constructed not of but to ward off that wicked pirate weapon– is the only one trying to plan in advance…Of course, Henry saves the day, in ways 4- to 8-year-olds will love.” —Chicago Tribune
Author Carolyn Crimi does an excellent job of making the characters come to life…This would be an excellent addition to any child’s library or classroom. It’s a book your child will want to read over and over again.” —San Francisco Book Review
Activities
Language Arts:
Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates is a sequel. In the first book, Henry manages to save the day through the skills he has learned from reading books. In the sequel, he manages to outwit a bunch of crazed chicken pirates by researching and writing his own book. Talk to children about the common themes in these two books —bunnies, pirates and reading — and then ask them to write a third adventure for Henry and the crew of The Salty Carrot.
Art:
Henry finds a mysterious message in a bottle. Ask children to write their own messages on crumpled up pieces of paper or pieces of brown paper bag. Tie the messages up with string and place them into empty soda bottles.