***Chickens May Not Cross the Road

and Other Silly (But True) Laws

by Kathi Linz

Illustrated by Tony Griego

Reviewed December 7, 2002.
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 2002.  32 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (J 348.73 LIN).

This is the sort of book that you can’t resist reading aloud to whoever happens to be near.  Even my third-grade son couldn’t resist this temptation, and I enjoyed him reading me all the outrageous laws, even though I’d already read the book myself.

The laws given are funny and outrageous.  For example, “Horses may not eat fire hydrants;” or “Trout fishing is against the law if you are sitting on a giraffe’s back.”  The cartoon illustrations are appropriately silly.

Interspersed between the pages of silly laws are discussions of where laws come from and how our legal system is set up in America.  So the book is educational as well as wildly funny.  Perfect for young elementary age students.

Copyright © 2003 Sondra Eklund.  All rights reserved.

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