Those Philadelphia Chickens will teach you to swing.
One of the things that you learn pretty early on as a parent is that each book that comes into your house has the potential to be the one - you know, the one that you read over and over again. And while I have a list of things that I like to consider when searching for a book, I will confess that “not annoying the parents� has jumped to the top of the list.
That’s why “Philadelphia Chickens� is such a favorite in our house.
I know what you’re thinking… I bought it because of the Philadelphia connection (I live and work in Philly). Well, half true. I bought it initially because it had Philadelphia in the title. And partly because it was Sandra Boynton (and who doesn’t love Sandra Boynton)? But sometimes those gut instincts turn out to be spot on. This one sure was.
The book is a compilation of songs and drawings. The book can be stand-alone but is much more fun when you listen to the accompanying CD. The songs on the CD are performed by such artists as Laura Linney, Eric Stoltz, Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, Scott Bakula, Natasha Richardson, Patti LuPone, the Bacon Brothers (though daughter Amy refers to them jointly as “Kevin Bacon”) and a whole bunch of Boyntons. I even have some of the songs on my iPod, perfect for drives in the car when other kids’ music won’t do.
Not in the mood to listen to the CD? The lyrics in the book do double duty as poems with the kind of illustrations that you’ve grown to know and love with Sandra Boynton. For the musically inclined, the sheet music is printed at the back.
My daughter, Katie, gives it five pages out of five (her highest rating) claiming that the best thing about the book is “the Philadelphia song� (you can hear a snippet here - requires free RealPlayer) With lyrics like, “Poultry in motion is a beautiful thing�, how can you disagree?
Sandra Boynton, Philadelphia Chickens, Bacon Brothers
February 15th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Just reading this post I got an ear worm of the song Philadelphia Chickens. I wonder if my cube mates wonder why I was humming about going ‘back on the farm’…