Prairie Chicken Little

K-Gr 2—When Mary McBlicken hears "a rumbling and a grumbling and a tumbling," she thinks a stampede is coming. The bison grazing peacefully nearby eye her curiously as she frantically heads toward the ranch to warn Cowboy Stan and Red Dog Dan. She encounters Jeffrey Snog the prairie dog, Beau Grabbit the jack rabbit, and June Spark the meadowlark, who follow her "lickety-splickety" toward the ranch. Unfortunately, they encounter Slim Brody the sly coyote, whose evil intentions become clear when the shortcut he shows them leads to his den. Red Dog Dan, riding his horse, Cowboy Stan, hears the ruckus and comes to the rescue. With the coyote gone, they realize that what Mary thought was a stampede is just her empty stomach making noises. Cowboy Stan cooks up a satisfying supper that they share as the red sun sets on the prairie. Cartoon characters with large, expressive eyes hurry across a painterly prairie under a wide blue sky with white clouds. The contrast heightens tension, as does the placid spread that shows the friends following the coyote to his den. The simple text with its rhyming words and repeated phrases will appeal to emerging readers. Pair Steven Kellogg's Chicken Little (Morrow, 1987), featuring a city setting, with this prairie version of the folktale for an entertaining storyhour.—Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN