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Silly Chicken
"Ami loves her chicken better than me.
She calls her Bibi, I call her silly."
Rani's mother loves Bibi the chicken more than her. At least that's what Rani thinks. That silly chicken gets all the attention, and Rani just can't stand it. Even worse, Bibi seems to know she's the favorite! But when Bibi disappears one afternoon, Rani realizes how sad her mother is. Will Rani's jealousy disappear, too?
Set in rural Pakistan and illustrated with lively, expressive illustrations, this original take on sibling rivalry is hilarious and poignant at the same time.
She calls her Bibi, I call her silly."
Rani's mother loves Bibi the chicken more than her. At least that's what Rani thinks. That silly chicken gets all the attention, and Rani just can't stand it. Even worse, Bibi seems to know she's the favorite! But when Bibi disappears one afternoon, Rani realizes how sad her mother is. Will Rani's jealousy disappear, too?
Set in rural Pakistan and illustrated with lively, expressive illustrations, this original take on sibling rivalry is hilarious and poignant at the same time.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2005
68 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 29, 2020
Great book met the author!!!!
October 17, 2017
Silly Chicken is about two sisters and one of them is in love with her pet chicken. The other sisters starts to get super jealous of the chicken and thinks everyone would be better off if the chicken became 'lost.' Eventually, the girl starts to feel guilty for losing the chicken and desperately tries to find it. They never find the chicken but the sisters find a new baby chick from an egg she laid.
I liked this book because it has a good message about jealously and how toxic it can be. Especially for children, jealousy can be a hard concept to teach and understand but this book helps put a story to the word 'jealousy' which will help them remember the moral a little better. It is a very silly way to portray jealousy but kids relate more with kooky, silly stories, especially if they involve chickens!
The illustrations of this book were not my favorite because they were kind of dull and not very detailed. But I think the illustrator may have done that on purpose to seem less sophisticated and to not take away from the text/moral.
I liked this book because it has a good message about jealously and how toxic it can be. Especially for children, jealousy can be a hard concept to teach and understand but this book helps put a story to the word 'jealousy' which will help them remember the moral a little better. It is a very silly way to portray jealousy but kids relate more with kooky, silly stories, especially if they involve chickens!
The illustrations of this book were not my favorite because they were kind of dull and not very detailed. But I think the illustrator may have done that on purpose to seem less sophisticated and to not take away from the text/moral.
May 2, 2018
What I enjoyed about this story most was that it was not predictable. As I read each page I really was not sure of what was going to happen next. And if I were to guess what was going to happen, I would have most likely been wrong! The colors used in the illustration are so nice and bright. You could get a good feel of where this story was based through the use of imagery and colors which I enjoyed.
March 1, 2010
APA Citation:
Khan, Rukhsana,Kyong, Yunmee. (2005) Silly chicken /New York : Viking,
Reader Interest/Level: 3-5
Summary: It's a delightful story of sibling rivalry. Set in rural Pakistan, a young girl is sure that Ami loves her chicken, Bibi, more. Ami takes her dress and builds a nest inside the kitchen cupboard, Ami sends her to fetch sticks and give Bibi clean water.
Reflection:
It's a light-hearted story with a great sense of humor, so I find this story suitable for young readers. However, I would personally read this to 3rd-5th graders; the storyline is similar to many others, but older students might be able to pick out cultural elements. For example, Ami wears a scarf that covers her hair and ears, but the young Rani does not. The sisters travel into town in a tonga, a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by ponies. And perhaps who live in rural Pakistan depend on chickens for their livelihood.
Khan, Rukhsana,Kyong, Yunmee. (2005) Silly chicken /New York : Viking,
Reader Interest/Level: 3-5
Summary: It's a delightful story of sibling rivalry. Set in rural Pakistan, a young girl is sure that Ami loves her chicken, Bibi, more. Ami takes her dress and builds a nest inside the kitchen cupboard, Ami sends her to fetch sticks and give Bibi clean water.
Reflection:
It's a light-hearted story with a great sense of humor, so I find this story suitable for young readers. However, I would personally read this to 3rd-5th graders; the storyline is similar to many others, but older students might be able to pick out cultural elements. For example, Ami wears a scarf that covers her hair and ears, but the young Rani does not. The sisters travel into town in a tonga, a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by ponies. And perhaps who live in rural Pakistan depend on chickens for their livelihood.
December 6, 2018
This book takes place in Pakistan. The drawings show the farm area and the hot desert-like scenery. It is about a child who's mother owns a hen. She says that her mother loves the hen more than she loves her, but her mother says she is silly for thinking that. The little girl did not like the chicken because of this. She also said she was not useful because she couldn't lay any eggs. Finally, one day she did and her mother put the egg in the cupboard. One day, they travel to the grave yard to visit her fathers burial sight. When they returned home Bibi was missing. All they saw were feathers and dog prints. Her mother blamed her for not closing the fence. She described her mother to be very upset. Two weeks later, they heard something moving around, they thought maybe it was a burglar or a mouse. When they opened the cupboard door, they saw a chick hatched out of the egg Bibi laid. She named the chick Bibi Ki Buchi, which means Bibi's child. At the end of the book she said that her mother thinks she loves Buchi more than she loves her, but that's just silly. I think this book is a great way to tie in a Palestinian story into the class and incorporate diversity with young children.
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April 13, 2020This book was kind of silly but I just really enjoyed it for some reason. The point of view was from a child and I just feel like the narrating voice sounded natural and funny. In the story, one of the chickens ends up sleeping inside the house and is very loved by the older character. We have also had a chicken once that became an "indoor chicken" who was constantly pecking at the glass sliding door when she wanted inside. I just thought the subject of the book was silly and cute. There was also representation of Pakistani culture and also a child who has lost their father. The illustrations were very colorful and fun, and the ending was sweet. I would like to have this book in my future classroom.
June 24, 2019
Silly Chicken is about a young girl named Rani who believes that her mother loves her pet hen named Bibi more than her. Of course, throughout the story we see Ami, the mother, take good care of the hen. One day something happens to the hen and the mom is distraught. Then a new Chick enters Rani’s life and suddenly we see the roles reversed.
The story does a good job depicting the life and culture in Pakistan for young readers. It does not introduce any Arabic in the story, instead it stays completely in English. It does deal with the concept of jealousy very well and shows how we can sometimes be jealous of someone for acting a certain way and then behave that same way later.
The story does a good job depicting the life and culture in Pakistan for young readers. It does not introduce any Arabic in the story, instead it stays completely in English. It does deal with the concept of jealousy very well and shows how we can sometimes be jealous of someone for acting a certain way and then behave that same way later.
March 20, 2020
My favorite part of this book was how I never knew what was going to happen next. I also loved how the illustrations were so vivid and bright. I grew up with a sister so I love how this author shows sibling rivalry, and the different feelings between the two. Ami is determined that she loves her chicken more, and the two go back and forth. I think this book would be an interesting story to have children read, especially those who have siblings and can connect. I also liked how this story took place in Pakistan, and will show children the cultural differences.
January 24, 2020
I liked this book, it's about a girl's connection to a chicken; the girl was crazy about her chicken. She treated her chicken like it was her best friend or sister; let the chicken come inside the house, took care of it when it was sick, and fed it. You could read this book in a classroom and then ask the children what animals or people are they connected to?
October 24, 2018
This is a funny clever story of jealousy. This story seemed a little fast to me but overall was okay. The illustrations were great and bold. This is great to read to students to teach them how to get through the jealousy.
January 29, 2020
This was a fun book about a girl who lives in Pakistan. I liked that each page wasn’t quite what I thought it would be; I thought the book was going to take one direction, and it took another. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.
February 19, 2020
This is a book about a little girl and her family member that brings a chicken into the house to get him well. It tells the stories of how younger children can feel replaced and is very relatable. While telling the stories of egg to chicken taking place in Afghanistan.
November 20, 2017
my kids and I really enjoy this author - I particularly love the stories of Pakistan and the use of Urdu words
May 17, 2019
150/365
September 13, 2019
Silly Chicken doesn't really teach the kids a lesson per say, but it is a fun book to read it is a book that shows a lot of emotions between the little sister and the older sister.
October 1, 2019
I really enjoyed this story set in Pakistan, about a chicken -- one of my favorite farm friends.
July 26, 2010
For many of the non-American picture books I've read, the story seems like it actually could have been American and simply adapted for that country. But this story had a distinct Middle Eastern tint that made the book stand out. The book follows young Rani and her mother (although it's not exactly specified) Ami, and the hen, Bibi, that comes to live with them after it catches a cold. Ami nurses it back to health and teaches it how to lay eggs properly, all the while somewhat neglecting Rani.
When the two go to visit Rani's father's grave one day (a strange plot feature to include), they return to find the chicken had escaped, and most likely had been eaten. But they find a little chick in the cupboard, most likely an offspring of the original chicken Bibi. And Rani decides she will love this chick. Now I understand a picture book does not have that many scenes typically, but that just means the scenes chosen must be done so quite carefully. I felt that the entire story felt incredibly rushed. I didn't believe that Rani would go immediately from spiting the mother hen to loving the baby chick.
The story does tell the reader toward the end that this all takes place in Pakistan, but I never saw any of the plot elements to be distinctly Pakistani. It seemed somewhat of a thrown in detail, when it should have been an idea that was reinforced in the book. The book could be used for 1st grade and below maybe, but I worry it would create too many questions for young kids. And they ask a lot of questions already.
When the two go to visit Rani's father's grave one day (a strange plot feature to include), they return to find the chicken had escaped, and most likely had been eaten. But they find a little chick in the cupboard, most likely an offspring of the original chicken Bibi. And Rani decides she will love this chick. Now I understand a picture book does not have that many scenes typically, but that just means the scenes chosen must be done so quite carefully. I felt that the entire story felt incredibly rushed. I didn't believe that Rani would go immediately from spiting the mother hen to loving the baby chick.
The story does tell the reader toward the end that this all takes place in Pakistan, but I never saw any of the plot elements to be distinctly Pakistani. It seemed somewhat of a thrown in detail, when it should have been an idea that was reinforced in the book. The book could be used for 1st grade and below maybe, but I worry it would create too many questions for young kids. And they ask a lot of questions already.
March 7, 2015
In connection to a school-wide (K-12) reading project, my students have been learning about Pakistan and Afghanistan and the lives of contemporary children in Central Asia. The goal of my partner teacher and I has been to share a range of stories and ideas that begin to show the diversity of Central Asian peoples and cultures. And while the books we've read have often featured people living on the other side of the world, many of the characters’ challenges connect directly to our challenges in the classroom, in our families, or in our city. And by exploring the similarities we share, in addition to our differences, we have been working to understand that there are many ways to do things and many ways to meet the same set of human needs. By highlighting the differences among people from Central Asia and the differences among the members of our own classroom, we hope to validate and honor the lived experiences of all.
Silly Chicken is the story of Rani, her mother Ami, and their chicken Bibi. Rani is angry and jealous because she believes that Ami likes Bibi more than her. Through the course of events, they learn to understand one another a little bit better.
Key to discussions of this book were the children’s efforts to interpret the body language of characters to better name and understand their emotions. Thinking about how eyebrows, mouths, facial flushing, and posture affect the ways we understand others’ emotions all entered into our conversation.
Silly Chicken is the story of Rani, her mother Ami, and their chicken Bibi. Rani is angry and jealous because she believes that Ami likes Bibi more than her. Through the course of events, they learn to understand one another a little bit better.
Key to discussions of this book were the children’s efforts to interpret the body language of characters to better name and understand their emotions. Thinking about how eyebrows, mouths, facial flushing, and posture affect the ways we understand others’ emotions all entered into our conversation.
November 17, 2014
This is a good book to read if an only child will become a brother or sister or if they feel jealous of another sibling. Rukhsana Khan creates a fun story to show that siblings are loved equally. In this story, a chicken is use to represent a sibling. Rani is the daughter of Ami, who decides to care for a chicken that is sick. Rani doesn't like Bibi the chicken because she feels that Ami loves the chicken more than her. As more time passes, Rani dislikes the chicken more. Soon after the chicken goes missing. The ending has a nice twist that you might want to check out. This is a great story to read to children with sibling or who will get a sibling.
This story takes place in Pakistan and the pictures do a good job of showing how it is and looks in a different country. This shows children how other places look and introduces them to a new place that they most likely never heard of. Te font of the words is sort of big but easy to read. The story is short but good. It goes really well with the images that go with the story. What they picture show more is how Rani feels when Ari pays more attention to the chicken rather than her. All colors are used equally throughout the story. Overall, I liked this story and is a good read for children.
This story takes place in Pakistan and the pictures do a good job of showing how it is and looks in a different country. This shows children how other places look and introduces them to a new place that they most likely never heard of. Te font of the words is sort of big but easy to read. The story is short but good. It goes really well with the images that go with the story. What they picture show more is how Rani feels when Ari pays more attention to the chicken rather than her. All colors are used equally throughout the story. Overall, I liked this story and is a good read for children.
September 18, 2014
In The Silly Chicken we see an example of classic jealousy. Rani, a young Pakistani girl, resents the attention her mother lavishes on a silly chicken who doesn’t even know how to lay an egg. When her mother isn’t looking, Rani whispers, “I’d like to cook you up and eat you!” One hot day in summer we discover that the hen has laid an egg and then disappeared. While looking for the chicken they find dog tracks and feathers and mother is saddened thinking the worst. On day Rani hears a strange noise and open the cupboard to see whats making the nose. There is a chicken inside and Rani grows to love the chicken so much that her mother thinks that she loves the chicken more then her. Though the plot was good and came full circle, it seemed rushed to me. a lot happened in a short picture book.
This book is a great read aloud book with bold, bright, and colorful illustrations that could capture any childs attention. Vibrant greens, yellows and blues, offers readers a sense of calm and reassurance that will calm whatever sad or scary feelings we may have developed throughout the story.
This book is a great read aloud book with bold, bright, and colorful illustrations that could capture any childs attention. Vibrant greens, yellows and blues, offers readers a sense of calm and reassurance that will calm whatever sad or scary feelings we may have developed throughout the story.
September 23, 2014
I loved everything about this story. The plot, the illustrations, and the message. The story is based in Pakistan and the character live on a farm area. Te story starts when the main characters grandmother brings one of their chickens into the house as a pet. The grandmother begins to give all of her attention to the chicken and none to the granddaughter. The granddaughter becomes very very jealous. When the chicken lays its first egg the grandmother puts it into the cupboard so that nothing will happen to it. When they come home from a long day the grandmother realizes that the chicken has been taken.. by a dog. Both the grandmother and the granddaughter know that this is not good. The grandmother becomes depressed but it doesn't last for long as another surprise comes to greet them.
I enjoyed this message about jealousy that develops in the story. It can really teach kids patience and how to act when they want someones attention. Overall this book was great and I would definitely recommend it.
I enjoyed this message about jealousy that develops in the story. It can really teach kids patience and how to act when they want someones attention. Overall this book was great and I would definitely recommend it.
December 7, 2014
This book Silly Chicken by Rukhsana Khan follows the tale of two sisters, one who is in love with her pet chicken. One of the sisters begins to get very jealous of the chicken and feels it would be okay if the chicken were to be lost. Like all stories, the main character begins to regret her wish that the chicken would be lost because she starts to feel guilty and drives herself wild to try and find it. She ultimately feels so guilty for the loss of her sister's beloved chicken.
However the story ends on a very positive note because although they never find the lost chicken they find the next best thing, her new baby chick from an egg she laid. This book tells a powerful message which is jealousy is never a good thing. This is a good story for anyone to read and it's illustrations do a wonderful job of pairing with the text to better the story that is being told. I would recommend anyone read this book because of its great plot and wonderful message.
However the story ends on a very positive note because although they never find the lost chicken they find the next best thing, her new baby chick from an egg she laid. This book tells a powerful message which is jealousy is never a good thing. This is a good story for anyone to read and it's illustrations do a wonderful job of pairing with the text to better the story that is being told. I would recommend anyone read this book because of its great plot and wonderful message.
April 28, 2016
Age: Preschool-2nd grade
Media: acrylic paint and black pen
Illustration Style: varying use of space, action and suspense compliments story
When Rani’s mother focuses her attention and love on a pet chicken, Rani gets jealous and remorseful. But when the chicken disappears, Rani helps her mother look and, when the chicken appears to gone, Rani consoles her mom. But, a surprise awaits them in the cupboard! Set in Pakistan, this humorous look at a “sibling” rivalry unfolds with simple, yet vibrant images for young and old eyes alike.
It's always nice to have a multicultural book that doesn't necessarily point out the non-Anglo American culture, it's simply a story that exposes children to different appearances of families and children just like them.
Media: acrylic paint and black pen
Illustration Style: varying use of space, action and suspense compliments story
When Rani’s mother focuses her attention and love on a pet chicken, Rani gets jealous and remorseful. But when the chicken disappears, Rani helps her mother look and, when the chicken appears to gone, Rani consoles her mom. But, a surprise awaits them in the cupboard! Set in Pakistan, this humorous look at a “sibling” rivalry unfolds with simple, yet vibrant images for young and old eyes alike.
It's always nice to have a multicultural book that doesn't necessarily point out the non-Anglo American culture, it's simply a story that exposes children to different appearances of families and children just like them.
June 21, 2016
Set in Pakistan, the book centers on Rani and her mother and silly chicken Bibi. Rani is jealous of the intense love her mother has for Bibi, though a sad event challenges her jealousy and ends up bringing the two closer together (especially as the book ends with a sweet surprise). It's a smart book with subtle hints of the dangers that exist in their city and of the grief they feel of losing their respective father/husband. A well-written, good read.
May 22, 2013
Silly Chicken by Rukhsana Khan, pictures by Yunmee Kyong – Lovely little picture book with a funny chicken who is well loved by a family… goes into loss and hope as well! -I’d partner this story with My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me by Maya Angelou- to compare writing styles, settings, and connections with chickens…
June 27, 2008
i met this author!!
she is hilarious in person too!!!
she is hilarious in person too!!!
February 28, 2011
Liked the drawings.
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March 26, 2018This book is filled with textured brush strokes and bright backgrounds, the paintings have a pleasing folk-art quality. Cultural details are naturally incorporated into both the text and pictures, allowing readers a glimpse into life in another country! It is heart warming. Rani finds a love for a chicken and understands why her mother was so infatuated with Bibi.
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