Chicken cheeks by Michael Ian Black, illustrations by Kevin Hawkes - review

Chicken cheeks by Michael Ian Black, illustrations by Kevin Hawkes
It's a fact, I'm a sucker for the bold, chewy acrylics of Kevin Hawkes. His love of orange and blue is apparently nearly as ardent as mine own. The guy's color contrast always puts me in mind of Maxfield Parrish. And in Chicken cheeks, his slightly just-past-normal expressions and colors are perfectly tuned to the subject matter.

And the subject matter is butts.

Yes, butts. But cute butts, not crass butts. Rhyming, alliterative, clever butts. Sure, it'll have the kids rolling on the floor (because - look - it's butts!) but it won't set parents to wincing, unless said parent is the type that thinks "caboose" as a term for "butt" is offensive. Or "patootie". Myself, I'd be thrilled if my children started using more creative terms, and I didn't have to hear "butt butt butt" all day.

I wonder where they picked that up?

Labels: age: PreK - Grade3, animals, picture books