An un-pictured artist has been working on a simple painting of a barn and animals in Blue Chicken by Deborah Freedman (Viking, 2011). The almost-finished painting, however, has a creative chicken that decides to help finish the painting once the artist is away. Climbing out of the picture, she only succeeds in making a big mess.
I love the way the sketched painting and scenery blend in with the watercolor mess. Blue Chicken is unfortunately rather an accident prone, but she’s very sorry! As she tries to fix the painting, the mess begins to look like fun.
Children may relate to the accidental mess that just seems to get worse, the adult can appreciate the humor and the wonderful illustrations of a painting coming to life, and the story comes full circle with the real barn getting painted outside. The back leaf of the book suggests, however, that those chickens have gotten into a mess once again! I love this picture book and enjoyed rereading it and revisiting the surprisingly detailed artwork.
