Chicken of the Sea

by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Ellison Nguyen, Thi Bui (illustrator)

A band of intrepid chickens leave behind the boredom of farm life, joining the crew of the pirate ship Pitiless to seek fortune and glory on the high seas. Led by a grizzled captain into the territory of the Dog Knights, they soon learn what it means to be courageous, merciful, and not seasick quite so much of the time.

Chicken of the Sea originated in the five-year-old mind of Ellison Nguyen, son of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen; father and son committed the story to the page, then enlisted the artistic talents of Caldecott Honor winner Thi Bui and her thirteen-year-old son, Hien Bui-Stafford, to illustrate it.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Pirates, Adventure, Fiction, Graphic Novels

46 pages, Hardcover

First published November 26, 2019

About the author

Viet Thanh Nguyen was born in Vietnam and raised in America. He is the author of “The Sympathizer,” awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. His most recent book, “To Save and to Destroy,” explores the idea of being an outsider. He is also the author of the short story collection “The Refugees;” the nonfiction book “Nothing Ever Dies,” a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award; the children's book “Simone” along with illustrator Minnie Phan; the sequel to “The Sympathizer,” “The Committed;” the nonfiction book “A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial,” longlisted for the National Book Award; and is the editor of an anthology of refugee writing, “The Displaced,” as well as a co-editor of “The Cleaving: Vietnamese Writers in the Diaspora.” He is a University Professor and the Aerol Arnold Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California and a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur foundations. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky fun book with great illustrations.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors visited our school (via Zoom) last month. They explained their collaborative process and how the book grew from a few comics panels to an entire published work. My kindergartners were so inspired by their talk that we ended up embarking on a month-long collaborative fiction-writing unit that we made up by the seat of our pants (with awesome results!). The book is incredibly fun and my students have asked to hear it over and over again.

[Jan Polep · Rating 5 out of 5]

What started as a story from a 5 year old and then illustrated by a Caldecott award winner, this picture book is for all ages because it is so darn funny. The "funny" just sneaks up on you. Read it more than once and you'll appreciate how the jokes just slipped past you the first time.

[Mai Nguyễn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viet Thanh Nguyen and Thi Bui are my favorite authors. It is amazing that they collaborated with their children on this fun and meaningful project. I have bought CHICKEN OF THE SEA as gifts for my nephews and nieces for Christmas.

[Nick Klagge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and weird book--bought it for my nephew (who is 3), but also enjoyed it myself. He's on the sensitive side and seemed scared at some parts, but a couple of weeks later, asked after the book unprompted!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are two stories here but both with the same idea: don't be a chicken! Bravery comes in all shapes and forms and this story written by a novelist's kid and illustrated by an artist's kid is truly delightful. Sometimes you gotta take a chance and leave the farm behind.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these chickens! They know what they want and so funny with the Pirate King (a rat) gives them clothes. And great details in the back about how the book came to be.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this one to Alena. I really like that the idea and the words came from a child. Fun book.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chickens and pirates seem to be a natural pairing. This is made even better by the fact that it was written by a five-year-old. The humor is on point and ridiculously delightful.

Would be a fantastic introduction to story writing and creation.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious concept well done!

[AstroPheems]

I bought a bunch of children's books for my friends kids this holiday season and I feel silly adding to my goodreads stats, but hey! A book is a book! This is the cutest book of being brave and also being ok about being chicken and who you see. Collaboration by some of my favorite Viet author and illustrator and their respective children.

[Bruce Crocker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was at the book launch at Vroman's in Pasadena today and got to meet all four authors/artists including 5-year old Ellison Nguyen. This is a really great multiple family project and I hope others follow the lead of the Nguyens and the Buis.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an absurd and adorable story that I laughed out loud at least twice. Chickens turned pirates is just automatically hilarious, especially during the identification of what would constitute treasure, from a chicken's perspective.

[Macy Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so cute, and even though it's a little discombobulated, I love that it was conceived of and partially written by a 4-year-old and illustrated by a 12-year-old who have great parents to support and encourage them!

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a whimsical read. It's a collaboration between adults and kids, and I loved that sort of collaboration. Would definitely read another book by this team.

[Amy]

Sweet family project sponsored by McSweeney’s.

[Jade Pham Gift · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is cute and would be fun to read to toddlers. The price is a bit high. However, local library should have a copy.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute! Chickens don't make good pirates, but such a fun read.

[Tami Ritchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun book to read! My students love it and they also love to hear the story behind how it was made (all of that information is at the end of the book)!

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastically funny and charming picture book, one of my son's favourites -- he kept asking for it after it went back to the library so we bought a copy and read it together every few weeks.

[Liz Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the brainchild of Viet Thanh Nguyen's son (story) and Thi Bui's son (illustrations). This book puts a big smile on my face. The story is just like a child might tell it and it has a happy ending all around. Ellison Nguyen (named after Ralph Ellison) was inspired to write the story after attending an artist's retreat when he was four. He met Thi Bui and Bao Phi at this event and A Different Pond is one of Ellison's favorite books. This inspired his own storytelling. Pirates arrive at the chicken's farm and asks for volunteers for his crew. 'Chicken-Are you willing? Or are you CHICKEN?" The chicken join the crew and become Chicken of the Sea. The chicken are told gold is the greatest treasure in the world. "You may know what gold is, but we didn't...because we're CHICKENS." The crew go to the island of the Dog Knights and a fight ensues that ends in a truce and a big party. The captain says the chickens are terrible pirates and they reply "That's because we're chicken. And that's a good thing". The illustrations are the work of Thi Bui's son Hien. The brightly colored pages are filled with action and good humor. It's simply a joy to read and will put a smile on anyone's face.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of bored chickens are recruited to be pirates and raid the Dog Knights for treasure. But are chickens cut out for piracy?

This is a humorous pirate tale that plays with expectations and puns. It ends much more peacefully and happily than normal for a pirate book. The book was written by a child and polished up by his author father and then illustrated by the teen son of Thi Bui with her help. I like that it is a parent/child creative collaboration, and it is a humorous story kids will likely enjoy.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the story is good overall, I love that it is actually Ellison Nguyen's words. Viet Nguyen just did the lettering. Very interesting take on chickens becoming pirates, but from what I was reading the book I found it a little scattered brained and it did not hold my attention. I read to children at work, so if the book doesn't keep my attention, I do not attempt to read it to my storytime children.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trio of chickens are bored to death of their life on the farm and so they sweep out to sea to become chicken pirates. Under the direction of their mouse captain, will they be able to steal the treasure of gold from the Dog Knights?

This story was born from the idea of the author's son and illustrated by the Thi Bui and her teen son. I really liked the backstory of this book which tells of the parent/child collaboration that took place to publish it.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty amazing for a book written by a little kid. Otherwise its main value beyond the chicken jokes is how you can show your tiny budding author “Look, a kid wrote this!” But it’s not worth a re- read.

[Sarah G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extra star for the story behind the story!

[Madhusree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this collaborative book. So much fun to read & re-read.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wacky and fun! Be sure to read the part about how the book was made. Inspirational.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my books of the year!
Delightfully imaginative and the illustrations just add to the fun.
We are chickens! 🐓🐔

[wildct2003 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for a story written and inspired by kids