by Patricia Polacco
review by Abby Dykes, youth from Nativity.
Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco is a heartwarming family tale emphasizing diversity, multicultural relationships and the strength of family bonds.
A young Russian-American girl and her two African-American brothers are determined to buy a beautiful hat for their grandmother, no matter what it takes. They realize the strength of kindness and common traits throughout their journey, establishing a connection with the misunderstood hat shop owner.
This is a tender and inspiring story for children of all ages, communicating the importance of acceptance and unity in a family.
Review by Beth Crow and Carol Smith
For the last thirty some years, elementary school teachers have rated Patricia Polacco is a favorite author and illustrator of children’s books. Her vibrant, free flowing watercolor illustrations, which often include family photographs, were the first to draw my attention, images that reflect her own childhood and or imagined children from another time-period.
In the story Chicken Sunday, Patricia Polacco, serving the role of a young, Russian American narrator, takes us to her childhood neighborhood of Oakland, CA, where she has formed a close friendship with brothers Stewart and Winston. In spite of their cultural differences, young Patricia is welcomed into their family, including their “Gramma” Eula Mae. Through their love and admiration for Eula May, they plot to surprise her with the beautiful Easter bonnet she has been admiring in Mr. Kodinsky’s hat shop. Through her own Ukrainian ancestry, Polacco introduces readers to the tradition of writing Pysanky, Ukrainian Eggs. The three children create these beautiful eggs to be sold at Mr. Kodinsky’s hat shop so they could purchase Miss Eula her dream hat for Easter.
One of the aspects I love about Polacco’s books is that within the wonderful storytelling and art gently flowing from page to page, she incorporates glimpses of deeper subject matter through which teachers, parents and young people can discuss and reflect. In Chicken Sunday, Polacco conveys the rich cultural African American family experience while also subtly sharing aspects of a darker history through Mr. Kodinsky’s concentration camp tattoo.
In a 2008 interview with Polacco, she says, “The essence of Chicken Sunday is, ‘Don’t judge people by the way they look. Judge them by what you know of them that you have experienced.’”
Suggested Discussion Topics and Activities
Discuss what “family” means. Can family include ones we hold dear who might not even be related to us and might be quite different from our immediate family?
Eula Mae had always taught the children to do what is right and tell the truth. How do the children regained the trust of Eula Mae and Mr. Kodinsky?
Mr. Kodinsky is a Holocaust survivor who resettled from Russia to the United States. You might discuss with your child(ren) why people might leave the country where they were born.
Activities
Pysanky, Ukrainian Easter Eggs:
Talk with your child(ren) about family traditions you may have. Explain how the writing of Pysanky is a very old Ukrainian tradition, dating back to the early Slavic cultures. They are usually created during Lent and are believed to bring protection. The various symbols written (with bee’s wax using a device called a kiska) represent different signs of prosperity, such as the wheat mean “Wishes for Good Health and a Bountiful Harvest.”
Learn more at https://ukrainianpeople.us/pysanka-ukrainian-easter-truditions/. If you would like to create your own pysanky with your family, contact Beth Crow and she can lend you the supplies you need.