The Chicken Thief, written & illustrated by Beatrice Rodriguez, Enchanted Lion Books, $14.95, ages 4-8, 32 pages. A red fox bounds out from a bush and sweeps a hen off her bony feet in this adorable wordless book that has fun with us as it goes. One lovely day, Hen is pecking about in the back of Bear, Rabbit and Rooster's cottage when a crafty fox plucks her off the ground as brazenly as if raiding a chicken coop. As the fox takes off into the woods with the white hen pressed to his chest, the Bear, Rabbit and Rooster charge after him, one piled on top of another (Rabbit riding Bear's shoulders and Rooster standing on Rabbit's head). At first, the fox holds the chicken's beak closed to calm her squawking, but as night falls and all of the parties tire, he releases his paw, and her chin falls sleepily onto his shoulder.
