The Hoboken Chicken Emergency

By Daniel Pinkwater

Book Overview

Though no one in Arthur Bobowicz's family cares much for turkey, when the butcher loses the family's Thanksgiving turkey order, Arthur frantically searches Hoboken for another fowl to take home to dinner. Unfortunately, it looks like every bird in town is spoken for -- until Arthur happens to find a mad inventor who offers to sell Arthur one of his superchickens at a bargain price of six cents per pound (and NO REFUNDS). When Arthur returns home with Henrietta, his mother refuses to cook a sixfoot, 266-pound chicken, which is fine because Arthur has started to grow fond of her. But then Henrietta accidentally wanders off alone, and dreadful rumors of a dangerous monster running amok through the city spread like wildfire, causing panicky townspeople to cower in their homes. With Henrietta on the loose, the city of Hoboken will never be the same. Since 1977, Daniel Pinkwater's hilarious tale of a boy and his chicken has tickled the funny bones of thousands of readers. Now paired with Jill Pinkwater's droll illustrations, the stage is set for the next generation of fans.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689830602
• ISBN13: 9780689830600
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 6 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 4

Customer Reviews

A classic, funny tale

Daniel Pinkwater's THE HOBOKEN CHICKEN EMERGENCY tells of Arthur, who sets out to bring home the family's Thanksgiving turkey and instead returns with Henriette - a 266-pound chicken with an attitude. New illustrations by Pultizer Price winner Tony Auth enhances a new edition of a classic, funny tale perfect for libraries seeking to replace aging classics.

Not the best of Pinkwater, but still a great book

I didn't enjoy this book as much as Lizard Music or the Snarkout Boys and the Avacado of Death, but I found it on the whole to be a very enjoyable read... Much reccomended for Pinkwater fans, and seems to be a popular first book for people who've never read any D.M.P.

Chickens Need Our Love!

The Hoboken Chicken Emergency was a really good book. It is a good book for third grade and up to read on their own. It takes place in Hoboken, New Jersey around Thanksgiving. It's about a boy named Arthur who goes to look for a turkey for Thanksgiving. The problem comes when he can't find one. Instead he ends up getting a 266 pound chicken named Henrietta. Arthur tries to keep the chicken as a pet but it runs away. Henrietta (the chicken) feels unwanted and creates diasters all over town. Read the book to find out what happens next. We thought the book was hilarious, funny, and exciting. We are nine and ten years old and we liked the book alot!

BIG Chicken Story!

Arthur Bobowicz of Hoboken, New Jersey is given $16.00 and the important task of buying this year's Thanksgiving turkey, a really big one, since the entire family will be coming for Thanksgiving dinner. But when he gets to the meat market, there are no turkeys left...no chickens or ducks or fowl of any kind. As he walks the streets trying to figure out what to do, he comes across a sign in an apartment house window, Professor Mazzocchi Inventor of the Chicken System, and thinks to himself that this looks promising. The Professor tells him he's in luck, takes his money, hands him a large chicken and slams the door yelling, "No refunds!" Unfortunately, what Arthur is holding is not a dinner chicken, but a 266 pound, live chicken wearing a leash, named Henrietta. So begins the Hoboken Chicken Emergency. And when Henrietta gets loose, the real fun begins. Daniel Pinkwater has written a very imaginative, funny, absurd story that's just perfect for 9 and 10 year olds. With fast paced scenes and hilarious story events, your youngsters will be laughing out loud while turning pages to the very end. The Hoboken Chicken Emergency is a classic and a tall tale that's not to be missed.

A great introduction to the fantastic world of Pinkwater.

This short tale of a kid in Hoboken is a great introduction to the fantastic world of Pinkwater, on par with his classic Fat Men From Space. Juvinile and zany, but with classic themes and deft efficiency of prose that will be appreciated outside of the targeted elementary age group. Illustrated by the author, with the same blunt and juvinile, and at once refined, efficiency of his literature