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Animal Crackers Fly the Coop
Kevin O'Malley is going for joke with a tongue-and-chicken barn yarn that's sure to appeal to fans of his New York Times bestseller, Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share . Turning the Grimm's fairy tale The Brementown Musicians on its funny bone, O'Malley has revised the classic story of four animals who part ways with their respective farmers to explore their artistic sides, this time sending them in search of belly laughs . . . and a great location for a comedy club. When they foil a band of robbers using their joke-telling talents, the animals-- including one determined comedi-hen--finally prove they can kill the crowd with laughter.
40 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 2010
36 people want to read
About the author
Kevin O'Malley
140 books32 followersThere is more than one author by this name on Goodreads.
Kevin O'Malley is the co-author and illustrator of the popular Miss Malarkey series as well as the award-winning Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude and the national bestseller Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
He also has visited hundreds and hundreds of schools.
Kevin O'Malley is the co-author and illustrator of the popular Miss Malarkey series as well as the award-winning Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude and the national bestseller Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
He also has visited hundreds and hundreds of schools.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 49 reviews
May 11, 2010
Well, Kevin O'Malley has finally done it. Do you know Kevin? The author of Bud, Little Buggy, and Lucky Leaf, Kevin cannot NOT perform. At readings and signings, he cannot NOT stop and doodle a drawing for a kid. My kids still repeat jokes they heard him tell years ago.
As talented a storyteller and artist as Kevin is, this jokester compulsion has resulted in books that have been progressively more saturated with puns and jokes, until, with Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share, I thought he could not fit any more in.
I was wrong. He could, he has, and what is more, he managed to invent a story that more than excuses the titanic onslaught of jokes. He's taken the classic Bremen Town Musicians story and made the four animals aspiring comedians instead of musicians. Hen would rather perform stand-up than lay eggs, so the farmer decides that she'll be Friday dinner.
"Where do chickens have the most feathers?" asked Hen.
"I don't know," said a chicken.
"On the outside!" she said. "And I plan on keeping it that way!"
The dog, the cat, and the cow are similarly derelict in their duties, and for the same reason, and so, homeless and underappreciated, they team up and hit the road.
Kids LOVE IT. Most everyone under the age of twelve that has read this book in my house cannot stop him- or herself from calling for everyone's attention:
"Why do dogs wag their tails?"
"Because no one will do it for them."
"What do you call a boomerang that doesn't work?"
"A stick."
What do you call a children's book author who can't quit cracking kids up?
VERY SUCCESSFUL!
As talented a storyteller and artist as Kevin is, this jokester compulsion has resulted in books that have been progressively more saturated with puns and jokes, until, with Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share, I thought he could not fit any more in.
I was wrong. He could, he has, and what is more, he managed to invent a story that more than excuses the titanic onslaught of jokes. He's taken the classic Bremen Town Musicians story and made the four animals aspiring comedians instead of musicians. Hen would rather perform stand-up than lay eggs, so the farmer decides that she'll be Friday dinner.
"Where do chickens have the most feathers?" asked Hen.
"I don't know," said a chicken.
"On the outside!" she said. "And I plan on keeping it that way!"
The dog, the cat, and the cow are similarly derelict in their duties, and for the same reason, and so, homeless and underappreciated, they team up and hit the road.
Kids LOVE IT. Most everyone under the age of twelve that has read this book in my house cannot stop him- or herself from calling for everyone's attention:
"Why do dogs wag their tails?"
"Because no one will do it for them."
"What do you call a boomerang that doesn't work?"
"A stick."
What do you call a children's book author who can't quit cracking kids up?
VERY SUCCESSFUL!
October 1, 2010
Kevin O'Malley is going for joke with a tongue-and-chicken barn yarn that's sure to appeal to fans of his New York Times bestseller, Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share. Turning the Grimm's fairy tale The Brementown Musicians on its funny bone, O'Malley has revised the classic story of four animals who part ways with their respective farmers to explore their artistic sides, this time sending them in search of belly laughs . . . and a great location for a comedy club. When they foil a band of robbers using their joke-telling talents, the animals, including one determined comedi-hen, finally prove they can kill the crowd with laughter. (Goodreads summary)
Filled to nearly overflowing with puns galore, Animal Crackers Fly the Coop will please anyone, like me, who loves puns. A take off on The Brementown Musicians, it has wonderful illustrations created using Arches watercolor paper, Higgins waterproof black ink and assorted pen nibs. The art was scanned & Photoshop was used to place color.
A fabulous mix of word play, jokes and puns will give young & old a chance to retell these excellent groaners:
Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? He didn't have the guts.
Why does a milking stool have only 3 legs? Because the cow has the udder.
Why did the chicken go to the library? To check out a Bawk, Bawk, Bawk.
Way too much fun! For ages 6 & up and all word-play lovers.
Filled to nearly overflowing with puns galore, Animal Crackers Fly the Coop will please anyone, like me, who loves puns. A take off on The Brementown Musicians, it has wonderful illustrations created using Arches watercolor paper, Higgins waterproof black ink and assorted pen nibs. The art was scanned & Photoshop was used to place color.
A fabulous mix of word play, jokes and puns will give young & old a chance to retell these excellent groaners:
Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? He didn't have the guts.
Why does a milking stool have only 3 legs? Because the cow has the udder.
Why did the chicken go to the library? To check out a Bawk, Bawk, Bawk.
Way too much fun! For ages 6 & up and all word-play lovers.
April 8, 2024
This book is for children. The key topic is to show that everyone has a talent whether you see it or not. In this story the animals each were special in their own way. They were on the farm and the farmer threatened to do something to each of them if they didn’t start working and making the produce he needed. When Hen finally decides to leave, on her journey she meets Dog, Cat, and Cow who have also run away from the farm. Together they each break out their talent and have a comedy show with one another. I rate this story a 5/5 because I think it’s something that kids would be interested in.
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June 17, 2022I seem to have a thing for books that have lots of puns and humorous undertones that only older children will get. This book was full of those. It tells the tale of the Musicians of Bremen but with jokes all along the way as they thwart the robbers. Kids will enjoy it and the fun illustrations. Older kids and adults will chuckle at the plays on words.
February 8, 2021
While this book had clever puns and good illustrations, it is a bit much for a children's picture book. My six year old asked lots of questions during the reading because that type of humor isn't relevant to little kids that are learning to read.
November 21, 2018
Connections: parody in Bremen Town Musicians, puns and word play
August 21, 2022
Again, interestingly serious-looking art style, mixed with silly puns. Even funnier than Gimme Cracked Corn.... Read that first, though, and read them both on openlibrary.org.
January 12, 2017
Cracked me up!
October 12, 2016
The book is a fresh, and rather hilarious, retelling of the classic fairy tale, The Brementown Musicians. And it is delightful.
May 27, 2012
Kevin O'Malley creates here a picture book that I would have loved as a kid.
Donalyn Miller found the connection to The Bremen Town Musicians as did I while reading this wonderfully imaginative work by O'Malley that provides a "ladder" as well as a send-up of the Grimm Brother's original. This natural ladder invites a side-by-side read that would bring the Grimm Brothers to younger readers. Extending the ladder would bring us right to A TALE DARK AND GRIMM.
The reason I would have loved this as a kid is because I grew up on a steady diet of MAD magazine and CRACKED (I'd find my uncle's copies and devour them when I visited my grandfather's house).
O'Malley's is full of jokes and one-liners that may not be in the wheel house of every reader in the room, but there are one or two readers in any given classroom that are ready for these references. Think about that joke-teller on the playground. O'Malley's book offers new material.
The illustrations make this title a marvel as well. During the climax, the animals fill the page with their response to the robbers they happen upon. O'Malley really gets the interplay of text and image in this one and Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share (another review to come here at Goodreads).
What's more, when someone asks for chicken puns at Twitter, Animal Crackers Fly the Coop becomes a mentor text.
Donalyn Miller found the connection to The Bremen Town Musicians as did I while reading this wonderfully imaginative work by O'Malley that provides a "ladder" as well as a send-up of the Grimm Brother's original. This natural ladder invites a side-by-side read that would bring the Grimm Brothers to younger readers. Extending the ladder would bring us right to A TALE DARK AND GRIMM.
The reason I would have loved this as a kid is because I grew up on a steady diet of MAD magazine and CRACKED (I'd find my uncle's copies and devour them when I visited my grandfather's house).
O'Malley's is full of jokes and one-liners that may not be in the wheel house of every reader in the room, but there are one or two readers in any given classroom that are ready for these references. Think about that joke-teller on the playground. O'Malley's book offers new material.
The illustrations make this title a marvel as well. During the climax, the animals fill the page with their response to the robbers they happen upon. O'Malley really gets the interplay of text and image in this one and Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share (another review to come here at Goodreads).
What's more, when someone asks for chicken puns at Twitter, Animal Crackers Fly the Coop becomes a mentor text.
November 15, 2013
Animal Crackers Fly the Coop is a book about a hen who decides to pursue her dream of being a comedian. After being threatened of being turned into dinner due to refusing to lay eggs, she escapes from the farm. Along her journey, she picks up a dog, cat, and cow who share the same passion for telling jokes. Tired and hungry, the farm animals decide to sneak into the hideout of three robbers while they are gone. Upon their return, the mysterious creatures in the dark frighten the robbers to the point of never returning to that house again. With an empty house, the four farm animals decide to fulfill their dream of opening their comedy club.
This humorous story was filled with various jokes within the text. The author excelled in depicting the characteristics of these comedian farm animals; they would use their own experiences and individualities while creating jokes, such as the cow saying, “I’m cow-culating what my next move should be” (O’Malley, 2010). This made the book enjoyable to read. Even though this book doesn’t go into much detail to describe the animals and the adventure they take together, it makes for an amusing, lighthearted children’s book.
This humorous story was filled with various jokes within the text. The author excelled in depicting the characteristics of these comedian farm animals; they would use their own experiences and individualities while creating jokes, such as the cow saying, “I’m cow-culating what my next move should be” (O’Malley, 2010). This made the book enjoyable to read. Even though this book doesn’t go into much detail to describe the animals and the adventure they take together, it makes for an amusing, lighthearted children’s book.
November 4, 2013
This "inspired-by-the-Bremen-Town-Musicians" story is full of one bad joke after another--these animals don't want to be musicians, they want to be comedians! The hen leaves the farm because she's too focused on being a comedi-hen to lay eggs, so come FryDay, the farmer's going to eat her. The dog joins her because he was so involved in a comedy show for the sheep he let a wolf steal a side of beef. The cow, who is udderly miserable (of course), comes along because the farmer is going to sell her to the butcher; all she thinks about is jokes and has forgotten to make milk (she has Milk of Amnesia). Even the cat, who does sing, is a sort of feline Weird Al Yankovic, with tunes like "I Saw Mommy Hiss at Santa Claws" and "Over the counter and into my mouth, a tasty mouse will go!"
Although I think many of the jokes here will zoom right over the heads of children, they'll get enough of them to keep giggling throughout. This week 2nd grade is reading a drama version of Bremen Town Musicians, and I think this is the perfect companion!
Although I think many of the jokes here will zoom right over the heads of children, they'll get enough of them to keep giggling throughout. This week 2nd grade is reading a drama version of Bremen Town Musicians, and I think this is the perfect companion!
October 27, 2013
This book definitely appeals to children because of the humorous mood and the fanciful plot. The plot is about a hen would has always dreamed about being a comedian at a nightclub. One day, she decides she no longer wanted to lay eggs and has to run away because the farmer threatens to eat her if she doesn't lay eggs. Along her travels, she runs into three other farm animals that share the same dream as her. They end up scaring off robbers at a house along their way and decide to make this house into a comedy club. I liked that these misfits were able to make their dream come true. I really liked how the author used a lot of jokes throughout the text. It was funny how the animals related their jokes to themselves, such as the cow saying, "I'm cow-culating what my next moove should be". I think that this book would be an entertaining read for young children, especially those that could understand and get a kick out of the jokes.
September 16, 2012
The book, "Animal Crackers Fly the Coop" will have children rolling on the floor laughing. The animals tell jokes throughout the story that Primary children can retell to their friends. The jokes are very simple and easy for children to remember and retell. The animals throughout the story are very recognizable by all children. Most of the story is told in dialogue between the animals. The text of the story is very simple and words are very short. Some of the words involve the sounds that the animals make; children will love these new words. The text was always rhyming making the story very easy to read. The illustrations are very cartoon like. They have the same details of the animals on cartoon network or Nickelodeon. This story will have children telling jokes for days.
January 22, 2011
Good for a laugh! This book has a ton of jokes, puns, and silly animals. The premise is based on the folktale Bremen Town Musicians. In this fractured tale the hen is a comedian rather than musician. She takes flight away from her farm after the farmer threatens her. In her flight she meets other animals who are also not very good at their jobs on the farm. They join the hen and strike out to be comedians too.
Good book and can be used with a wide range of students K-4
Good book and can be used with a wide range of students K-4
July 30, 2010
Hen wants to be a comi-dihen, and when she stops laying eggs, the Farmer threatens to cook her. Forced to flee, Hen wanders the countryside, meeting other animals who are bad at their farm jobs, but hold dreams of performing. A clever send-up of The Bremen Town Musicians, filled with word play, jokes, and puns.
October 15, 2010
I love Kevin O'Malley and his books are hilarious. That said, can a book be "too" funny? This book has a lot going on-- lots of playing with words and figures of speech. The result seemed a little choppy to me. The illustrations are fantastic. I think this would work really well for sharing one-on-one, but not so good for reading aloud.
August 9, 2011
What hen doesn't dream of opening her own comedy club? With jokes like "why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the library to check out a bawk, bawk, bawk this comedi-hen is working for chicken feed! After all, egg laying is not all it's cracked up to be! With the corny jokes and play on words this just might be a good intro to the joke book section of your library!
January 9, 2011
This is a fun story about four animals who band together and start a comedy club. It's a silly story, filled with punny jokes and illustrations and dialogue that give the book a graphic novel feel. Our girls liked it, but I had to explain a few of the puns. Love that there's a library joke included!
April 9, 2013
This book is full of the kind of humor that makes my wife groan. I loved it. One liners and terrible puns abound. Fozzie Bear should probably pull material from this book for his next act. Four animal comedians crack a joke on nearly every page. It doesn't get any better. Read. Laugh. Groan. Whatever. This is comedy gold.
May 31, 2011
I did not love this book. I think this one is better suited for older kids, because of the complex humor, idioms, and other allusions that very young readers just won't know. A fun book that is certainly very clever, but just not a book of the day for the ECS.
April 22, 2010
A version of the Bremen Town Musicians but these animals are inspired to be comedians rather than musicians. Very punny and full of silly jokes that kids (and some of us grown-ups) will love.
June 17, 2010
YES YES YES
six star book
as wonderful and corny the over-the-top jokes are, the caldecott worthy art is their equal
six star book
as wonderful and corny the over-the-top jokes are, the caldecott worthy art is their equal
February 21, 2012
It quacked me up. Lots of idioms and second grade jokes in this creative Bremen Town Musicians. Might not make it to a comedy club, but I'll bet the 1st and 2nd graders will love it.
July 24, 2010
Chock full of jokes and puns that school-age kids will love.
August 23, 2010
The puns in this book are sooo bad... :) Milk of amnesia!
October 18, 2010
This book is more than chock full of puns! Super silly and hilarious. Probably wouldn't be as good for a read-aloud, but great to read with someone who loves silly jokes as much as I do!
November 17, 2010
This is a cute book with jokes from animals.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 49 reviews