Interrupting Chicken Saves the Nutcracker

Terrific Tuesday Read Aloud.

If there is a chicken on the cover, my class already knows one thing for certain… this book is going to be funny.

We have been laughing our way through the Interrupting Chicken series by David Ezra Stein, and honestly, these books are pure storytelling chaos in the best possible way. Loud interruptions. Wild plot twists. Dramatic retellings. Endless giggles.

What I love most is how these books invite children to play with stories instead of just listening quietly to them. My students were interrupting, predicting, retelling, acting out scenes, and creating completely new endings. It became the perfect springboard for our storytelling unit and later helped students transfer their ideas digitally using the Puppet Pals app.

Beneath all the humour and silliness is also something surprisingly tender: the sweet relationship between Papa and Chicken. The warmth between them gives the stories heart.

And yes… I absolutely loved, loved, loved the very first Interrupting Chicken. I did not realise how much I needed sequels until I saw more books appearing on the shelves. Few picture books make children laugh this hard while also teaching them so much about voice, pacing, storytelling, and character.

Some books entertain children.
Some books invite children to become storytellers themselves.

These books do both.