This picture book recommendation, Cold Turkey, written by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Kirsti Call, illustrated by Chad Otis can be found at:
Amazon (not affiliated at this time)
https://www.worldcat.org/ Library near you
https://www.indiebound.org/ Local Bookstore
WIFYR CONFERENCE 2022
In 2020 I got serious about writing picture books because my first story was based on a true-life event and saying of my mother’s. I wanted to get her story published before she was no longer with us. I didn’t make it. Thankfully, she did get to see it on paper with illustrations before she passed away in December of 2021. In January I was determined to become better at my craft and signed up for the Writing and Illustrating for Young Authors (WIFYR) 2022 Conference.
My instructor that June was Kirsti Call. The week-long classes were amazing, and I came away inspired. I bought her book “Cold Turkey” and had it signed. I’ve read it to my grandsons, who think the characters are hilarious: Chilly Chicken, Shivering Sheep, Polar Pig, etc. Last week I entered my sunroom and cried.
My nine-week-old English bulldog puppies escaped their pen in the night and chewed up several of my books. “Cold Turkey” was one of them. Unfortunately, puppies reach the bottom shelf as easily as grandkids. My only consolation is that the inside of the books are still readable.
Why Cold Turkey is a picture book recommendation
I really love everything about this book — and I’m not saying this just because Kirsti Call was my instructor. It’s important to read books to our kids, and this is a great choice.
The word play is awesome with illustrations that enhance the story. What’s the story? Turkey wakes up and it’s freezing, so he bundles up and makes his way around the barnyard. His friends are also cold, so he shares his warm winter wear with them. Now he’s a cold turkey, with nothing keeping him warm. His friends notice and come to his rescue, making him a toasty turkey instead.
Silly
I am drawn to silly. Laughter and thinking outside the box is what draws me to many picture books. This story provides multiple opportunities to talk with your kids about what makes it funny. For example, each animal is introduced with a descriptive name. At the end, they all have new names that suggests a “cooking” term. I think that’s hilarious.
I believe children who can develop a sense of the ridiculous have the imagination to see the silly in everyday situations that might be hard for others. When they fall and bonk their head, or their sandwich falls on the ground, or they have to transition from one situation to another. I think silly is a super skill to secure.
Word Play
Alliteration is one of my favorite literary devices (if you haven’t noticed yet). One of the stories I presented at WIFYR used alliteration — a lot — and I was given the advice of backing off a little. So ya. I love it. The authors use it perfectly here.
Puns might be attributed to dad jokes, but at our house, they’re mom jokes. This story has plenty of animal puns.
Voice is the personality or sound of the story. In this picture book, the authors show how chilly it is with their stuttering, cold voice, both in the verse and dialogue. How fun to read aloud!! It also creates an opportunity to role play the scenes with little kids. “Can you walk like a Polar Pig? How does a Huddling Horse neigh?”
Rhyme makes up the basic format of the story. Each character has one stanza (four lines) of the quatrain. This is great for young children because they are short and somewhat predictable. I like to emphasize the first rhyming word and see if my child (grandchild) can guess the last rhyming word of the stanza.
Quivering Cow is a great example of all four of the word plays that I love. Cow was qu-qu-quivering. “I can’t help but complain. This wind is a cow-tastrophy! It’s udderly insane!”
Illustrations
Obviously, the illustrator has humor in the bag with that sweater! The entire book is colorful and adds to the word play. The verses do not mention which clothes Turkey shared with whom. Chad Otis is brilliant in his depiction of winter clothing going on barnyard animals. Silly? Completely!
Farm Animals
Although it might seem like it, I did not purposefully choose another book with farm animals, but they are a fun subject to put in picture books. Besides being fun to look at, they are a great way to utilize mimicking, which is an important skill for kids to learn. Whether you’re getting them to copy the sound animals make or acting out their movements — flapping wings, gobbling, galloping, etc. As I mentioned before, this book creates fun interaction.
Message
Most important, I think the story’s messages make this picture book recommendation a great conversation starter for friendship and gratitude. Yes, this Cold Turkey during Thanksgiving is perfectly poised to portray gratitude.
Friendship
As we know, friends are important, but children don’t always have good social skills. Here are some conversation starters to help kids consider friendship:
“Why do you think Turkey gave away almost all his winter clothes?” He saw that his friends were cold, so he shared with them.
“Turkey says, ‘I may be getting frostbite, but at least my heart feels warm.’ What do you think made his heart warm?” When we share with our friends it makes us have a happy feeling inside — like being warm.
“How did the farm animals show that they were friends to Turkey and each other?” They built a fire so they would all be warm together.
“On the last page, it says “Toasty Turkey”. What does the picture show them doing that makes Turkey feel toasty warm?” Hugging.
“When you get a hug from someone, how do you feel?”
“When you give a hug, how do you feel?”
Gratitude
Lastly, I think gratitude is probably the most important point of this picture book for me. Best for last, right? Why did the friends take action to help Turkey? They were nice? They felt guilty? They had nothing better to do? NO!!! (although they were nice . . .)
“The barnyard gang felt grateful so they built their friend a fire.” I love the illustration of the friends running after Turkey. Gratitude is an amazing attribute to have. It is the best reason to be kind to those who were kind to us. Plus, it’s a wonderful subject of conversation for grade-schoolers — and teens, and adults. How do we show we’re grateful? What are we grateful for? Who should we show gratitude to?
MY RECOMMENDATION
I didn’t receive any compensation for this picture book recommendation. It’s sincerely a book I loved. I hope you enjoyed this review and that you’ll visit the library with your kids, grandkids, nephews, or nieces and give “Cold Turkey” a try. Maybe add it to your personal library, like I did. Just keep it away from the puppies.
OTHER ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Not Now Cow: A DratherB Reading Jr. Picture Book Recommendation
5 Favorite Middle School Books to Read in 2023
Encouraging Your Child’s Sense of Humor by Johns Hopkins Hospital
How to Help Kids Develop Gratitude, by Harvard
YOUR TURN
Have you read this book before? If you have, share your review. Is there a book like it you’d recommend?
