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Bin Chicken #1

Bin Chicken

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Diving in dumpsters, traipsing through trash!

Rummaging through rubbish, making a splash!

'Revolting!' they snort, starting to sicken, 'Trash Turkey! Dumpster Duck! BIN CHICKEN!'

One bird's trash is another bird's treasure-find out why the ibis is the queen of the rubbish pile!

24 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2020

63 people want to read

About the author

Kate Temple

36 books24 followers
Hello to you! We are Kate and Jol Temple and we write silly books for kids! Some of them love to rhyme and others do not at all but all of them have pictures, because pictures are cool and anyone who says they're not is a two headed yeti. We live in Sydney with our human sons and a dog that thinks it's a raccoon.

We love to visit schools. We talk about and read picture books to little kids preschool through to junior primary. We also love to talk to bigger kids about our chapter books and what it's like being a writer. For more info about our school visits contact us and we'll be in touch.

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5 stars
45 (47%)
4 stars
31 (32%)
3 stars
15 (15%)
2 stars
1 (1%)
1 star
2 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Donna.
283 reviews88 followers
May 26, 2021
A fascinating picture book on the evolution of the ibis. Formerly a revered sacred bird now deemed the scourge of picnics and parks by humans and hilariously by other bullying birds too.

Kate and Jol Temple share the ibis' story extolling them with the virtues of resiliency, adaptiveness and pride.

Ibis isn't ruffles, she just takes to the sky, the stench from her wings is her only reply.

I found it to be a bittersweet book. While these birds are deemed to be a nuisance in many areas - it is inherently the result of urban sprawl once again encroaching on wildlife areas.

We've swapped our swamps for the streets of the city, and you'll meet many who think that's a pity ...

I was thankful for the quirky and punny illustrations by Ronojoy Ghosh to temper a very sad story.
Profile Image for Rhianne Crook.
40 reviews2 followers
January 29, 2024
This book was a great exploration of the Ibis through out history. Great use of rhyming and amazing illustrations.
Profile Image for Dimity Powell.
Author 35 books91 followers
June 22, 2020
What do meat pies, hot chips and the land of the Pharaohs have in common? As it turns out, quite a lot thanks to a curious looking, bald-headed bird with stilt-like legs and a beak that arcs like an oversized hairclip. The Straw-necked Ibis is an instantly recognisable suburban bird to even the youngest of humans thanks to its ungainly appearance and potent guano pong. Yet this hilarious tribute to one of our most misunderstood rubbish bin visitors, allows the humble Ibis to take on a glorious new role.

Mother Ibis nests high above her suburban kingdom in a palm tree that is home to three adorable fluffy chicks. Despite the eclectic furnishings of their treetop home, the chicks learn from their mother not only how to survive in this modern world but gain a sense of their ancestry and history. For you see, their ancestors used to grace the banks of the Nile in Egypt and were once regarded regally rather than in distain. So when did it go so awry and Ibis became synomous with the term, Bin Chicken?

Through lilting rhyming verse and rainbow coloured pictures, co-authors, Kate and Jol Temple and illustrator Ronojoy Ghosh, shed new light on this bird’s story. Comically captured moments in Ibis’s’ day show her scrounging through bins and rubbish piles in search of tasty morsels. Other kerbside bird buddies admonish her disgusting and unhealthy behaviour. They are crude and brutal in their observations giving rise to all manner of derogatory names. Unable to appreciate her heritage, they do not understand her behaviour is merely a desire to keep her chicks from going hungry and a testimony of her ability to adapt in ever changing times and habitats.

Although gorgeously humorous, this tale suggests a deeper context that we should never judge a book or bird by its covering…or smell. One can never be certain how another ended up in the situation they are in or what they have to do to survive it. It all boils down to making judgements based on perspective and exercising tolerance.

Bin Chicken is an entertaining and timely pertinent picture book that I hope promotes awareness and understanding. Smiles are already assured.
Profile Image for Shane.
1,348 reviews21 followers
August 25, 2020
A celebration of our "bin chickens", the White Ibis. I liked the links back to their Egyptian past, and the explanations of how their adaptations have made them ideal for our society. We always have ibis wandering around our school, so I think this will be a popular title.
Profile Image for Jessica.
2,529 reviews14 followers
September 1, 2022
A smart and funny story about the infamous ibis.
AKA tree duck or bin chicken.
Profile Image for Freddie D.
898 reviews6 followers
May 16, 2020
I'm so glad that I stumbled upon this book: a celebration of the humble bin chicken, in all its dumpster-diving glory! I am a staunch defender of the ibis: what a clever, resourceful and resilient bird. I love that this book celebrates all of these things. On top of this, the rhyming text is funny and the illustrations are lots of fun. A brilliant Australian story.
Profile Image for Claire.
3,449 reviews45 followers
August 31, 2022
This is more heartwarming and beautiful than I expected. I have her wearing the tuna can hat, looks very dashing. A lovely story. Ibis have been forced to adapt and they have quite well, sadly. I don't understand why people hate them.
Profile Image for Lex Redding.
409 reviews4 followers
March 22, 2021
A really sweet story about the poor little bin chicken. I think my toddler will enjoy reading this over and over.
Profile Image for Lani.
92 reviews4 followers
Read
May 16, 2021
Excellent, funny rhyming text. Stunning, bright illustrations. And a bin chicken with a lot of heart. Loved it!
Profile Image for Paula.
190 reviews1 follower
April 16, 2025
A really sweet story about the poor little bin chicken. the rhyming text is funny and the illustrations are lots of fun. A brilliant Australian story.
Profile Image for Lauren Sims.
26 reviews
August 25, 2025
Anyone who's been to the popular Southbank of Brisbane City knows about the long-necked bird named the ibis. Spending a day there is enough to enlighten us as to how such an innocent bird came to be named foully as, 'bin chicken'.

Ibis used to sift muddy creeks for worms and other 'tasties' with their long beak. Now these beaks are perfect for pulling rubbish scraps out of bins for a good feed. Now the term 'bin chicken' is a pop culture reference of our time.

Children's picture book, Bin Chicken, takes this cultural phenomenon to the next level. It is aimed at children of a slightly higher reading level than my book, Smooch Kitten, however, authors employ similar entertaining and engaging rhyming. One of my favourite lines reads:

'Disgusting!', tweets, Sparrow "Rats of the sky" But, Ibis can't hear them with her head in a pie.

The line accompanies a pigeon exclaiming 'HOLY SCRAP!', for a cheeky giggle for kids and parents alike.

Gosh's illustrations are perfectly digitally sculptured. The simple outlines and block-coloured shapes with lightly textured trimmings all suit the upbeat entertainment of the book.

For fun-loving and spontaneous reading, I highly recommend this book. There is no higher moral message cleverly underpinning the book, but what's life without comedy? Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

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