Review of "Chatty the Hen Pheasant" by Linda Harkey, Illustrated by Mike Minick, Narrated by Stewart Joiner Davis

Paperback Score: 93+/100 (9.3+ out of 10)
Audiobook Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)

Chatty the Hen Pheasant is a snow-covered delight from the creative duo of Linda Harkey and Mike Minick, the author and illustrator who brought us Desert Friends, The Remarkable Story of Willie the Crow, and The Great Animal Escape. With their signature blend of humor, heart, and animal hijinks, Harkey and Minick once again deliver a story about getting to know and connecting with others, including those who are different from ourselves. We often find that we have more in common than what separates us!

It's always so amazing to consider the vast and different environments of Harkey & Minick's books. The Great Animal Escape was a rural story in the countryside. Desert Friends took place in the hot, dry Arizona desert, speckled with cactuses and sand. The Remarkable Story of Willie the Crow took place in a bit of a suburban environment with a nice hacienda and pool.

Well, Chatty the Hen Pheasant is set against the chilly backdrop of a South Dakota blizzard! It's a winter wonderland of snow—deep enough for half of a Labrador's body to sink and disappear into!

Speaking of Labradors, we're quickly introduced to our main protagonist, a black Lab named Cimarron Lucky Nassau, better known simply as "Nassau." Nassau is a proud and eager hunting dog who helps his hunter, The Great One, track and catch pheasants.

He happens to track and catch a particular pheasant named Chatty, the book's namesake. Humorously, he compares her scent to "chicken nuggets" (which is oddly relatable). Nassau is excited and eager to share his catch with his owner.

Meanwhile, Chatty, understandably, is taken aback by being caught in a large dog's jaw. It isn't exactly the most pleasant or comfortable experience, after all. But Nassau is gentle enough not to bite down and squash her, though it's tempting, because he wants to make his owner happy and do what he has been taught.

Chatty is taken aback, and Nassau isn't having any of it initially. Then, in a very human moment, Chatty actually tries to talk to Nassau, not as a bird or as prey but as a living being—a person just like him. Chatty tells Nassau her name, which is a surprisingly powerful and poignant moment since it humanizes her. Nassau is forced to face the fact that Chatty has a name just like he does, she's a living being just like he is, she's a person just like he is, and probably has loved ones, hopes, dreams, and things that motivate her just like he does.

It's cute, sad, and fascinating all at once.

It's cute because, well... they're talking animals.
It's sad because Nassau is now faced with the possibility that he may be participating in the demise of a living being who isn't so different from him.
It's fascinating for all the above reasons.

It's a little strange how brief their interaction is. It's actually a bit odd how short this book is and how abruptly it ends—seemingly as soon as it began.

The relationship between Nassau and Chatty is probably less than ten minutes long. Compare that to the long, evolving relationships in all of Harkey's other animal books, and this probably clocks in as the shortest relationship of them all.

Yet... the impact it likely leaves on the two characters probably lasts long after they part ways. As Chatty is watching Nassau & The Great One leave—appearing contemplative and reflective—Nassau is also reflecting on and thinking about his experience and interaction. Yes, he's upset that his owner let his one big catch go, but a part of us think that he's a little relieved. The moral dilemma was taken out of his hands/paws/jaws, and he realized that Chatty was special—a hen pheasant, important to the whole hen population and future hunts.

We liked this book (and audiobook), perhaps even more so than Desert Friends and The Remarkable Story of Willie the Crow. The Great Animal Escape will probably always be our favorite Harkey book.

Yes, this book seems short, but it still packs a punch. It's humorous. It's fun. It's engaging (you wonder what will happen to Chatty and if Nassau will let her go). It doesn't overstay its welcome. Furthermore, it's actually easy to follow and understand. It's far less random than Harkey's other animal books in which so many random events and characters were coming out of the woodworks to get involved like this was the Royal Rumble or something. Yes, Nassau has an overly-long full name, but it's only ever used or mentioned once.

The one and only glaring weakness of the paperback version is that the text is WAY TOO SMALL. That would be understandable if there weren't all this blank white space in the background that the text could have easily fit in. It's not like the designers were short on space. There's a lot of room for text! Yet, for some reason it isn't fully utilized. This can make it challenging to read at circle time. The text needs to be bigger. There appears to be no good reason it needs to be this small.

The illustrations are among Minick's best in the series. They might even be better than the ones in Desert Friends. The snow environment is breathtaking, enchanting, and beautiful. Best of all, the two main characters look great. Nassau might be the best-illustrated dog character in this series lineup, and Chatty might be the best-illustrated bird character in the series.

The audiobook is also great! Stewart Joiner Davis did an excellent job. Apparently, he is used to performing, being a singer and dancer in musical theater. He's well-equipped to narrate this or practically any children's book!

We will say that—compared to Harkey's other books—this is probably the easiest to read aloud (as well as the shortest). Ignoring the aforementioned small text, the writing itself is a lot more simple and plain. We kind of wish that Stewart Joiner Davis had been assigned to read Desert Friends while Jeremiah Acevedo were assigned to read Chatty the Hen Pheasant, ultimately reversing the roles. It would have matched their skill-sets so much better. Desert Friends had a few tongue-tying passages (like the one about the tarantula's eight beige legs) that Stewart probably could've pushed through. Meanwhile, Jeremiah would've read Chatty the Hen Pheasant just fine and without issue. That would be a win-win.

It kind of seems like this book was too easy for Stewart, or maybe he's just that good at reading and performing. He performs the voices for the gruff Nassau and the cute, chirpy Chatty very well! We especially liked his little Chatty voice.

This is yet another adorable children's book by Harkey and friends!

Check it out on Amazon!