Broadway Chicken

Charlie the Dancing Chicken makes a dazzling debut, as does Fromental, in this droll hometown-bird-makes-good tale. A world-wise narration evocative of old movie voice-overs, combined with shadowed, grainy pastel illustrations (like slightly faded film stock), creates the impression that Charlie is starring as himself in an early Hollywood version of his lollapalooza of a life story. Charlie is discovered dancing for nickels in New York's Chinatown by Sam Z. Fowler--a theatrical agent with a cash register for a heart--and a comet-like career is born. Blazing through bohemian bars, in no time Charlie wows the Great White Way, earning the moniker Broadway Bantam. Movie stardom isn't far behind: Coop at the Top and Elmer Poultry are but two of his successes. ``The world is my chicken coop,'' says Charlie. But once at the top, there's nowhere to go but down. Charlie, a chicken with pluck, survives the plummet and finds himself back in Chinatown, poorer but wiser. Seamlessly adapted from the French, the endless poultry-inspired wordplay alone is worth the price of admission. Although the clean-lined page design verges on the austere for such a showy tale, the oversize format suits this larger-than-life character. A tale to crow over. Ages 5-9. (Oct.)