The Sky is Falling!

by Mark Teague

Chicken Little thinks that the sky is falling -- and inspires a dance craze!

Award-winning author and illustrator Mark Teague tells his humorous version of "Chicken Little" with a zany twist!

When an acorn hits Chicken Little on the head, she panics and screeches, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Squirrel, who knew a thing or two about acorns, tried to set the record straight, as did the other animals. The chickens started dancing--they moonwalked, they mamboed, and they did the twist. Pretty soon the other animals joined them. You can't blame someone for wanting to dance, even if the sky isn't really falling!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Retellings

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2015

About the author

Mark Teague has delighted young readers with more than 20 picture books, and he has written many of them himself, including the popular Pigsty, Baby Tamer, and One Halloween Night. He is also the illustrator of Cynthia Rylant's beloved Poppleton series for beginning readers and the best-selling books by Jane Yolen, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight and How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon.

Mark Teague's life changed when he moved from San Diego to New York City and he planted the seed for his first picture book, The Trouble with the Johnsons. Each of Teague's books start as "notebooks full of sketches and scribbles, strange little drawings and phrases that suddenly come together," Teague explains. And although he had no formal writing training, his endless imagination and understanding nature gives him a permanent place in the hearts of everyone.

Mark and his wife live in Coxsackie, New York, with their young daughter Lily, who has a great time watching her dad paint the pictures in his books.

Reviews

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fractured fairytale version of Chicken Little.

Well, you've never quite read a version of Chicken Little like this one. Yes, a chicken gets all worked up about the sky falling when an acorn hits it on the head. But the results are mixed. There's a group that believes the fake news. There's a group that doesn't, a cunning fox, ...and a dance party? Like I said, not quite like any version of Chicken Little you've ever read before. But it would be quite fun to include when reading other versions of the tale.

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's probably most fair to say that I just didn't get it. It's a twist on the familiar "sky is falling" routine, but for some reason it turns into a dance party. And even though all the non-avian animals are smart enough to realize the sky is NOT falling, they...join in anyway.

It really just seemed silly to me, and not in the charming, fun-for-kids way.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is super fun to be interactive with, but the ending is sort of weird. My group had fun with it, but they got a little lost at the end. If I did it again, I might rephrase some things. Point out the illustrations in the beginning. It's easy to miss, but the fox is in the background shooting the acorn off the tree with a slingshot.

[Stephanie Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly typical Chicken Little/the-sky-is-falling story but with a bunch of dancing. It could be fun to teach some of the many dance moves mentioned either as part of PE or just to increase the activity of students in the classroom.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great traditional literature read-aloud that has the perfect places for "take a break" dance parties throughout the text! Can't wait to share this with the primary grade teachers at my school!

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whimsical and silly; kids will likely love it.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

One day an acorn hits Chicken Little on the head. (In the illustration we see a fox using a slingshot.) Chicken Little immediately starts screeching that the sky is falling. Squirrel points out that it’s just an acorn, but Chicken Little soon has all the chickens in a tizzy crying that the sky is falling. They began dancing around the yard, flapping their wings. When Rabbit asks Squirrel what’s going on Squirrel tells Rabbit that the chickens think the sky is falling. Rabbit comments that that's dumb (since Rabbit sees that it’s an acorn). But the chickens are now dancing every type of dance they seem to know. When Cat is told what is going on Cat comments, “You must be kidding.” But the chickens look to be having such a great time that the Cat, Squirrel, and Rabbit soon join in the dancing all the while shouting that the sky is falling. Fox, who is secretly watching from behind a tree thinks, “Look at those dodos.”  *Spoiler Alert*  He asks what they are dancing about and they tell him the sky is falling. Again, Fox thinks, “These loons would believe anything.” He invites them to hide safely in his den, all the while holding a chicken dinner menu behind his back. Chicken Little tells him that everyone dances when the sky is falling, then they all begin teasing him that he probably can’t dance. So we see Fox do multiple dances to prove that he is capable of dancing. When he dances under the apple tree you see a chicken leg pushing an apple off the tree. Then the next illustration shows Fox knocked out cold. All the animals wander back to the barn. Cat and Rabbit drag Fox to his den. Cat and Rabbit comment that, “This is one dumb fox.” “But that is one smart bird,” Squirrel says chewing on the acorn. Last page: “. . . even if the sky isn’t falling.” The illustration shows Chicken Little looking at the apple and in the background Rabbit, Cat, and Squirrel.

Cons: There were too many loose ends in the story. Was this “act” all planned out by the chickens and animals in advance, had it happened before and they knew about the fox and slingshot? Were the chickens clueless until the end? Two other things were of concern.  Cat, Squirrel, and Rabbit joined in the dancing and chanted that the sky was falling even though they'd put the chickens down for not knowing it was an acorn and thinking the sky was falling. (Will children interpret this as being a follower because it looks like fun?) And there was a lot of "putting down" of each other in this story.  While I don’t usually over think picture books, this one concerned me.

Pros: The illustrations are colorful, large, and well done.

[Sunah Chung · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story starts with the line saying, “one day an acorn hit Chicken Little on the head”. Chicken Little believes that the sky is falling and spreads the word to other chickens. All the chickens start to dance and other animals such as cats and rabbits think that chickens just wants to dance. The other farm animals also join dancing. Fox wants to eat chickens and schemes to lure them into his den. However, the Fox is the one who is knocked out by hitting an apple, and other animals go back to the peaceful routines.
First of all, I did not really understand the whole story. In order to understand the history and background of “the sky is falling”, I researched it. I still couldn't follow what the story was about. Does dancing metaphorically illustrate herd mentality? The chickens easily become influenced by peers and other animals follow the certain behaviors, dancing in this case, even though rabbits and cats do not understand the reasons why the chickens dance. Second of all, at the end of the story, a little squirrel says “[…] that is one smart bird […] even If the sky isn’t falling”. I wondered if the squirrel's comment had a significant meaning in relation to this story. I reviewed some of other reviewers, but I still got confused the story.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would be a classic telling of Chicken Little, but it is actually what happens when the hen has the sense to stay out of the fox's home. This chicken is quite a bit smarter than she lets on. While others think she is being dumb (things aren't always true just because people say them!-even the speaker has to change his idea in the end), she is actually getting everyone's attention to save everyone from Foxy Loxy lurking about looking for a meal. Start looking for him on the title page to get what is really going on here.

Great for predicting and getting surprised- if you know Chicken Little and look at the picture clues, the ending won't be what you think.

Teaching point: look around and formulate your own opinions- don't just take what others say to be true ("Boy, is that dumb."). Also great for learning a lesson about tricky, dangerous sorts. Don't listen to just anybody, kids! Pretty deep for a picture book!

[Kraig Barth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I liked the spin off version of Chicken Little that this book offered. "The Sky is Falling" by Mark Teague a story about strategy and awareness from my perspective. The illustrations in this story helped me follow along with the story. Chicken Little, who cried about the sky falling seemed to have used this ridiculous claim to trick the "clever" fox who had been watching them. While the fox thought he was smart, the chickens convinced all the farm animals to dance and shout, "The sky is falling!" In doing so, the fox was later tricked into dancing as the chickens antagonized him. This ultimately led to an apple falling and knocking out the fox. This provided both safety and lunch for Chicken Little.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Traditional Fiction and this is perhaps the best illustrated Chicken Little story I have read. The Fox is up to his trickery and of course it appears The Little Red Hen has been tricked. As she screams her mantra The Sky is Falling! and riles up all the other chickens, it slowly becomes clear she is aware of the Fox's plan and has outwitted him! Though some word choice was off-putting for me for a book I plan to read aloud, it is certainly made up for with these illustrations. Mark Teague is a favorite author/illustrator and this book reminds me why that is true. Don't miss this story and stick with it as it is quite fun. If you are a Physical Education Teacher starting a unit on Dance, this book could get that ball rolling with laughter, for sure!

[Christina Senf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not read this book since I was a child. I remember it a little differently. I enjoyed this version. Chicken Little thought the sky was falling. She went around telling all the chickens and other animals on the farm. The chickens all began to dance. The other animals at first thought this was silly but soon joined in. The fox observed the whole thing and wanted to eat the chickens. He tried tricking the chickens, but it was the chickens who tricked the fox.

[Allison Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute take on the original story of The Sky Is Falling. The book adds humor in small ways including the chickens dancing and doing the splits. An easy read and easy vocabulary for students to understand. This would definitely be best suited for younger students possibly up to third grade. A fun read aloud for when discussing beast tales or traditional literature.

[Elizabeth Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book and I personally don't love the Illustrations. This book is a version of chicken little unlike any other. Overall the book seems to be a bit random and all over the place, I probably wouldn't read this book to a class or anything, but that doesn't mean its a bad book it just wouldn't be something I would reach for.

[Mandy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I think it is so interesting how at the end of the book you wonder "wait did Chicken Little know what the fox was trying to do the whole time?" I think this book would definitely belong in a 3rd grade classroom just because some of the vocabulary that is being used in the book when talking about different dance moves would be difficult for some younger kids.

[Jessalynn McCoin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did the world need another retelling of Chicken Little? Maybe, maybe not, but Mark Teague is always a big hit as a readaloud with my students. I'm thinking of pairing this one with Mo Willem's That is Not a Good Idea.

[Hailey Corman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to read the actual story. I remember hearing it as a kid, but never knew there was a book about it. I love the cleverness of the story where I didn’t know what was the ending until the last page.

[Kian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would probably give this one a higher review if I hadn't already read Teague's books. The story was good but Seems to be missing something.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's too much putting down of others for me to like this book. So and so's dumb... They're an idiot... Nope. Not for me.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny for kids and adults!

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun take on Chicken Little.

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

128/365

[Kiyoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

(youtube)

[Goshen PL Childrens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at Storytime on February 24, 2021
Theme: Mark Teague stories

A fun twist on the classic Chicken Little story.

[Katrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't get it. A fractured fairy tale, but I didn't understand the moral.

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Teague never disappoints.

[Belinda Grimbeek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transforming old stories into new ones. THE SKY’S THE LIMIT for book topics. 😉

#picturebooksforkids #turningoldstoriesintonewones#addatwist

[Landon Whitlock · Rating 1 out of 5]

No one (adults included) in our family understood this book.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bwaa haha haaa! Farmyard hijinks.

So many fun pictures.

Library copy

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun twist on the classic story.