The Christmas Chicken: A Novella
By: Allen Appel / Narrated By: Brad Wills
Length: 2 hrs and 23 mins
A little blind hero, a little earnest chicken—NOT to be missed!!!
I listen to The Christmas Chicken every year, so it’s quite a pleasure to review this audiobook for you now. I believe it’s suitable for all ages, even though be warned: there’s Christmas cockfighting (poor, dear King!), and a drunkard of an uncle (who also happens to be oh so wily indeed).
Little Jack was born blind, so he’s NEVER seen the world, has never seen colors, has never seen animals. He lives happily with his mother, father, his uncle Cage, in their modest hovel and is terribly happy despite his condition. While he doesn’t want much, never asks for anything for Christmas, this year he wishes desperately that Santa will bring him a dog. He’s heard many, many stories of boys and their dogs, and he wants to experience that for himself.
Due to unfortunate circumstances, a chicken just HAPPENS to plop down the family’s chimney, and there you go: Jack discovers that dear ol’ Santa has brought him his dog. The whole family earnestly goes along with the dog thing (though Uncle Cage hints that he’ll “forget” and will spill the beans that the chicken is NOT a dog lest mother and father allow young Jack to come out on the streets to beg with him). The chicken is duly named King, and he becomes part of the family, Jack’s little friend.
Once on the streets to beg, mayhem ensues and we, the listeners, are treated to street urchins whose gang has a strict code of ethics, drunken barroom songs, and King’s owner malevolently searching for the lost chicken—due to fight in the ring soon.
I have to say that Brad Wills narrates this magnificently. Those street urchins’ accents are done well; little Jack is done well; drunken Uncle Cage is done well; and King! Oh my goodness, Wills delivers indignant and/or confused squawks, earnest and loving gargling with total aplomb. I’ve never heard a chicken that made me chuckle and laugh so much. Huzzah to Brad Wills!
The Christmas Chicken is barely over 2 hours, so it won’t take up much of your time.
And oh my! What a rollicking time you’ll have with this Christmas listen!
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