Zany fairy tale follows a chicken everyone thinks is magic.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
very little
The Learned Princess throws an urn made of clay at her father in anger, as he's going out her door, and it smashes to bits, but it doesn't hit him. A scene of pirates attacking a rival pirate ship shows flaming arrows flying and people fighting with swords and falling overboard. The text says, "A vicious fight broke out, claiming many lives and limbs," but no deaths, injuries, or blood are shown. A Drowning Sailor makes it to shore and survives.
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There's a variety of skin tones, hair colors, and body types in the cast. The Learned Princess and her father, the Purple Pooh-bah, are Black. The Lone Rider is a brave young woman with dark skin.The Shepherd boy's ethnic identity is undetermined. Two female characters portrayed in nonsteretypical roles as brave, independent, and taking their destiny into their own hands.
Don't be distracted by being too concerned about your looks. Sometimes things are just a coincidence, not magic. Some people wish to see magic in the world.
Positive Role Models
a little
The Purple Pooh Bah is kind and patient with his teen daughter, understanding that teenagers get angry sometimes and delighted that the chicken brings her joy. The Learned Princess -- "who had become learned thanks to private tutor -- remember there were no schools in Ancient Times)" -- longs to explore the wide world and writes a catchy song about Gladys that becomes popular in the kingdom. The Shepherd Boy's vanity causes him to lose Gladys, but he loyally searches for her and realizes he shouldn't care so much about his looks.
Educational Value
very little
Tongue-in-cheek comments about "Ancient Times," such as: "The Shepherd Boy worked all day and never went to school, because in Ancient Times, school had not been invented yet. (It's true -- look it up.) ... He never learned how to look things up or how to read or write or know science, so understandably, he was not nearly as smart as you." "That Shepherd Boy could shear a sheep in sixty-seven seconds flat. Though, it should be noted, clocks had not been invented yet in Ancient Times."
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Gladys the Magic Chicken, written by Adam Rubin (Dragons Love Tacos and illustrated by Adam Rex (The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors), is a zany, fairy-tale-like story about coincidences that strike people as magic. When changes happen to the characters in possession of a chicken named Gladys, they attribute them to her having magical powers. Gladys is deadpan throughout, as all sorts of crazy adventures take place around her while she simply "ploops" out eggs. It's a colorful, funny read-aloud with a narrator who often butts in to explain things about how things were "in Ancient Times." There's a fight between rival pirate ships with swords and flaming arrows but no injuries or deaths shown, and a teen princess throws a clay urn at her dad but it smashes on the door he's exiting and he's not hurt.
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What's the Story?
During "Ancient Times," a Shepherd Boy owns a chicken named Gladys, and one day he says to her, "I wish I was beautiful." And then when he grows up, he changes and becomes handsome, and after he sees himself in a traveling merchant's mirror and declares,"Gladys hath granted my wish to be beautiful! 'Tis a magic chicken -- magic, wish-granting chicken," Upon hearing that, a Traveling Merchant merchant trades him him the mirror for GLADYS THE MAGIC CHICKEN. But when the merchant can't sell her, he wishes he was rid of her, and a Long-Beareded Bandit steals her. Then a Brave Swordsman rescues Gladys and takes the thief to the palace of the Purple Pooh-bah, where the Purple Poo-bah grants his wish to be member of the Royal Guard guard and gives the chicken to his daughter, the Learned Princess, who wishes to escape from the palace. When a Fearsome Pirate comes to kidnap her for ransom, she credits Gladys with her freedom. The crazy coincidences just keep coming, until Gladys and the Shepherd Boy (now a handsome man) are reunited and he finds true love with a beautiful, brave woman known as the Lone Rider.
This story of crazy coincidences taken for magic makes a rollicking read-aloud with much silliness, a funny narrator, colorful characters, and Adam Rex's exuberant illustrations. Sit back and enjoy the wacky, lengthy plot of Gladys the Magic Chicken unfolds. There are subtle messages along the way about greed, vanity, and seeing the magic around you. It's a playful take on fairy tales and life in "Ancient Times" that has a modern sensibility of inclusion and women taking control of their own destiny.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what makes Gladys the Magic Chicken like a fairy tale. Is it the kinds of characters? The language? The setting "in Ancient Times"? What are some of your favorite fairy tales?
Do you think Gladys has magic powers, or that things that happen around her are just coincidences and she has no influence over events?
What makes this story funny? Which picture is the funniest?
Available on:
Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
Last updated:
July 11, 2024
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