Chicken big by Keith Graves

Scholastic, 2012. ISBN 978 1 74169 977 7
(Ages: 5+ ) Picture book. On a very small farm a huge egg is laid by a very small hen, and out of the egg hatches a humungous chicken. He is so big that he does not fit into the chook house, so big that he that the other animals think he is all sorts of things. So begins a search for what this large yellow animal really is, as the chooks sift through a number of large things, to arrive at a name for him. Is he an elephant, or an umbrella, and so on, each time deciding why he is not what they think he might be. Classes and individual readers will have a great time trawling through the reasons why the animals think he is one thing, and be able to call out why he is not. A great deal of fun will be had. The illustrations too add another layer of mirth as roosters and hens walk in line scared of this large yellow animal. The expressions on their faces add another level of fun for the readers.
When the large chicken saves the day by scaring the fox away, all is resolved as the large chicken is accepted for what he is and invited to reside in the hen house with the rest of the chooks.
A wonderfully funny story of difference and acceptance.
Fran Knight