by Alicia Rudnicki,
Library Mix

My Life As a Chicken,  as told to Ellen A. Kelley, Harcourt, Inc., 2007, ISBN 978-0-15-205306-2
Available at Powell's Books

Pauline is a hard-working hen who is dismayed by her life of "cluck 'n' lay, night and day." But it isn't until she overhears the farmer planning to bake a chicken pot pie that she flees the coop.

Pauline tells her story of life-changing misadventures in rhyme, using interesting vocabulary that will pique young readers' interest.

Perils of Pauline
The brave hen encounters hungry predators on land and sea, including a  crew of pirate cats. Pauline waits in the crows nest of their ship until the "scalawags" fall asleep.

"I tiptoe aft, steal a raft/ brave the waves,/ and sail my craft."

Illustrator Michael Slack invents a clever raft for Pauline,  a black pirate's hat complete with skull and crossbones on which she sails into further trouble.

"Pauline, prevail!" she squawks whenever danger looms. And prevail she does with the help of author Ellen A. Kelley who resolves Pauline's plight by ending the story in chicken paradise — a friendly petting zoo.