Chicken Man by Michelle Edwards; Montgomery, Alabama: NewSouth Books © 2008, ISBN 9781588-382375; 26 pages; $9.79 on Amazon.
SAN DIEGO – For its October selection for 4-year-old children, PJ Library has brought back an oldie but a goodie: Chicken Man, the story of a kibbuitznik who does everything well, because he has such a good work attitude.
When Rody worked and sang in the chicken coop of his kibbutz, the hens laid more eggs and the roosters strutted proudly but he seemed so happy that Bracha the baker asked if her next assignment could be in the chicken coop. The kibbutz secretary, who made out the work schedules, complied, and Rody was transferred to the laundry. There he sang so joyfully and loudly while he washed and ironed, that Dov, who milked the cows and mucked out the barn, thought that he’d like to transfer to the laundry. That sent Rody on assignment as a gardener. Next, he went to the young children’s house, cleverly named the Baal-a-gan, a word connoting “wild disorder” which he tamed by entertaining the children.
But meanwhile the hens weren’t laying eggs, which were needed not only in the kibbutz kitchen but also for the kibbutz’s sales to markets – an important source of their community’s income. So Rody, aka Chicken Man, was restored to the job he loved most, and everyone was happy. Especially Clara the chicken, who liked to sit on Rody’s head.
This winner of the National Jewish Book Award not only introduces the traditional kibbutz system to young readers, but in a constructive way points out the flaws of a hyper-egalitarian philosophy that suggests everyone is equally suited to do any job, and that there is no need to recognize or distinguish individual talent.
*
Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com