Turk and Runt: A Thanksgiving Comedy » (Reprint)

Lisa Wheeler has written 17 books for children. Her most recent picture book for Atheneum is the hilarious Castaway Cats, illustrated by Ponder Gombel. She lives with her family in Trenton, Michigan. Learn more about Lisa on her website at www.lisawheelerbooks.com.

Frank Ansley has illustrated four other books by Lisa Wheeler: Turk and Runt (starred in Booklist), Wool Gathering (starred in Publishers Weekly), and the first two books in the Fitch & Chip series, New Pig in Town and When Pigs Fly. Mr. Ansley and his wife, Pat, live in St. Helena, California.

Turk's parents are proud of him, the biggest, strongest, most graceful bird at Wishbone Farm. "He's a dancer," says his mother. "He's an athlete," says his father. "He's a goner," says his little brother, Runt.

But no one ever listens to Runt — even after people with seasonal plans and roasting pans begin showing up at Wishbone Farm, or even after the juiciest turkeys are chosen, one by one. "Chosen for what?" Turk asks. No one wants to hear Runt's answer. But you will laugh at what he has to do to get his family's attention. They are, after all, turkeys.

Publishers Weekly

Wheeler and Ansley return to the comical family dynamics they related so successfully in Wool Gathering for this turkey tale set on Wishbone Farm. While Turk's parents cluck with pride over him, little brother Runt sees Turk's assets as liabilities (" `He's a dancer,' said his mother. `He's an athlete,' said his father. `He's a goner,' said... Runt. But no one ever listened to Runt"). The younger fowl continues his sarcastic asides as he scares off a football coach and a ballet instructor who admires Turk's legs ("Look at zee size of zose drumsticks!"), until finally his family sees the light. This funny tale may well make readers consider the fowl's side of the holiday; they may even spare the turkey. Ages 4-7. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.