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Summary
Summary
They were on their own -- three kids and one giant chicken. Stuck in Hoboken for the summer, Nick Itch, Loretta Fischetti, and Bruno Ugg are really, really bored. After whiling away their time spitting in the Hudson River and trying to teach Henrietta, Nick's 266-pound chicken, how to juggle marshmallows, they're ready for something -- anything -- to happen.
When a mysterious and brilliant chalk artist starts decorating Hoboken's streets, the three friends are blown away. They set off to explore the art world in a frenzy of adventurous drawing, screeving, and eggplant picnics.
Author Notes
Author, illustrator, and radio commentator Daniel M. Pinkwater was born in Memphis Tennessee on November 15, 1941. He is trained as an artist and attended Bard College. In 1969, he wrote and illustrated his first book, The Terrible Roar. Since then he has written over 50 books for children, young adults, and adults. He is also a commentator on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and regularly reviews children's books on Weekend Edition Saturday. While he has illustrated many of his works, his most recent ones have been illustrated by his wife Jill Pinkwater.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-When Nick, Loretta Fischetti, Bruno Ugg, and Henrietta-Nick's 6-foot-tall, 266-pound chicken-go looking for excitement, they trip over some fascinating and mysterious sidewalk art. Thus begins the makings for adventure ending the kids' boring stretch of summer vacation in Hoboken, NJ. When decorated pavement reproductions of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" turn up, then give way to chalk portraits of Henrietta, the four companions go in search of the sidewalk screever, Lucy Casserole, who awakens their wellspring of collective talents. Then, it's off to New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art with Henrietta, disguised as a nun, as the responsible adult. This clever book has just the right ingredients to make it a hit with kids: fanciful fiction plunked into the middle of madcap reality. The cheeky wordplay lends itself to read-alouds, and the black-and-white drawings contribute even more pizzazz to the action. The book offers a natural springboard into discussions on Van Gogh, art appreciation, and the idiosyncrasies that afflict brilliance. Some of the tongue-in-cheek political jabs will fly over the heads of young readers, but silly appearances by Meehan the Bum; local Dee Jay, Vic Trola; intellectual Hilangully Ryder; and other oddball charcters will have students laughing out loud and begging for more.-Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Followers of the six-foot, 266-pound Henrietta, the famous Hoboken chicken, will welcome her back heartily in The Artsy Smartsy Club, by Daniel Pinkwater, illus. by Jill Pinkwater. Once the property of Arthur Bobowicz, the feathered friend is now in the care of Nick (from Looking for Bobowicz), who leaves Hoboken with his two pals to take art classes in New York City-and of course, they bring their beaked buddy along. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Finding amazing chalk drawings on the sidewalk jolts Nick, his two friends, and his giant chicken Henrietta out of their mid-summer doldrums and into a quest to improve their artistic knowledge and skills. Though more message-driven than the other Hoboken Chicken titles, this loopy fine art lesson, with inviting black-and-white cartoons, contains ample doses of Pinkwater's absurdist humor. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
After a nearly 30-year drought, the sequels to The Hoboken Chicken Emergency are coming fast and furious. Following up on Looking for Bobowicz (2004), friends Loretta Fischetti, Bruno Ugg and Ivan "call me Nick" Itch, along with the six-foot-tall chicken Henrietta, are back. With zany librarian Starr Lackawanna kayaking off Baffin Island and Radio Jolly Roger on hiatus, things are looking pretty dull in Hoboken--until the kids find some magnificent art on the pavement down by the docks and take up with Lucy Casserole, the legendary screever (that's a sidewalk chalk artist, to those in the know). Under Lucy's expert tutelage, Loretta, Bruno and Nick develop their abilities both to appreciate and to create art. A host of trademark Pinkwater loonies dominate the foreground of this work, but a genuine and enthusiastic affection for the fine arts forms the background. Loretta, Bruno and Nick can hardly be called realistically childlike characters, but the author renders their responses to art so wholeheartedly and passionately, and with such respect for the capacities of children, that the result is a sweetly cock-eyed ode to composition, color and form. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-6. The normally festive town of Hoboken, New Jersey, is between festivals, so Ivan Itch and his friends (including the giant chicken Henrietta) are starting to get bored. Then they stumble across some beautiful chalk drawings done on the sidewalk, and they begin a quest to discover the mystery artist. Their search leads them to Lucy Casserole, a legendary sidewalk artist. Lucy gives the children art lessons and suggests they visit the Frick Museum (which they do, chaperoned by Henrietta, dressed as a nun). The kids' efforts result in a new Hoboken festival dedicated to sidewalk art. Pinkwater has a message to deliver here on the joys of both making and appreciating art, but his conglomeration of eccentric characters and goofy plot twists keep the story from becoming overly didactic. Jill Pinkwater is on hand with some comical pen-and-ink illustrations. In fact, the overall package could have used more of her inspired pictures. --Todd Morning Copyright 2005 Booklist