Are chickens smarter than coyotes? It seems unlikely, but Margriet Ruurs tells a jaunty tale of one hen, Emma, who outwits a marauding coyote and wins the praise of the farmyard. Of course, her victory comes more by luck than wit: falling off a branch onto the coyote is a misadventure rather than a strategy, but the results are satisfying. Emma’s bravado makes her an appealing, if somewhat silly, heroine, much like a young child eager to prove herself. Ruurs’ earlier book about the same hen, Emma’s Eggs, was a Storytelling World Honor book, and this one too has a lively text, appealing to read aloud.

Emma and the Coyote inevitably recalls Hutchens’ classic picture book Rosie’s Walk, in which a hen, oblivious to danger, is pursued on her walk about the farm by a fox who falls into all sorts of misadventures.

Spurll’s brightly coloured, funny pictures show the world from a hen’s perspective: the human characters mostly appear as feet and legs, while bugs are shown in splendid detail.