Chicken Joy on Redbean Road: A Bayou Country Romp Tapa dura - 2007

Saturated in Cajun and Creole cadences and sensibilities, this rollicking, multilayered tale is at once lyrical and tongue-in-cheek funny. The playful illustrations are a clever mix of collage and bright watercolors that feature varying perspectives and impressively expressive poultry. . . . The sheer insouciance of both text and art will have readers dancing the two-step and sharing that chicken joy as well.
School Library Journal

Fine turns of phrase, and Sweet's mixed-media illustrations . . . have a bouyancy that elevates the text.
Booklist, ALA

In a text that is at the same time eloquent and hilarious, Martin creates a rousing barnyard tale into which she skillfully interweaves the story of fictional musician Joe Beebee, recounting his childhood love of music and his attempts to fashion his own instrument from a cigar box and an old screen door. . . . [Sweet's] lively illustrations, employing collage and found objects, are the perfect complement to this lyrical Louisiana tale of good music and good friends.
Kirkus Reviews, Starred

*STARRED REVIEW* With its unquestioned animal/human interaction and its repetition, this story, in Martin's quietly lyrical prose, has a folklike flavor. . . . The illustrations are a tasty stew in their own right; line, watercolor, and collage create a quirky world wherein cuddly, globose chickens utter Cajun exclamations in speech bubbles and chat readily with sharp-featured humans; compositions vary inventively, employing techniques such as comic-strip panels and overhead views. . . . There's just something irresistible about a good chicken story.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books