The Chronicles of the Wise Old Chicken

The book is a delightful read, filled with non-sensical stories conceived to provide an opportunity for the reader to relax, while at the same time, provide anticipation for the characters’ next moves. It is a collection of stand-alone short stories of unimaginable circumstances and ideas (many of which must have required some research), the only link of which is the Wise Old Chicken (WOC).

The WOC is my hero and favorite character. He is a mixture of poise, knowledge, uncanny timing, stately presence and adventure. In other words, he is an impressive character.

I can only state a sense of wonder about the imagination exhibited by the author and inspiration influenced by and derived from his injured son. The book actually takes me back to the days of my childhood when I was a bit ignorant of the true facts and meaning of many of the objects and events taking place around me. However, I very much enjoyed that state of mind because at that age I was much in awe of many day-to-day events and for the most part carefree.

The book is easy to read and might, at first blush, have been characterized as a book for children, but most all the concepts and ideas expressed within would only be fully understood by adults.

In summary, my sincere congratulations to the author and as a reviewer of [The Chronicles of the Wise Old Chicken,] I would rate it a 5 out of a maximum 5 in quality and enjoyment.

Retired Director of Finance & Administration

One of the definitions for “chickenshit” on urbandictionary.com is “used when something makes no sense or is completely stupid,” and it seems pretty appropriate for the book titled [The Chronicles of the Wise Old Chicken] by Tom Garber. That is, the book itself makes sense, but the actions of the characters therein frequently do not.

As a big fan of Aesop’s Fables, I was delighted to read “A light-hearted book of quirky fantasy stories about a Wise Old Chicken and his exploits with humanized animals and vegetables” as part of the description. And while this collection doesn’t quite reach Aesop’s heights, the tales were very reminiscent of the famous author’s writings. I especially liked that the Wise Old Chicken usually acted as an audible moral of the story, though some of the tales did have morals at the beginning of the telling. Additionally, W.O.C., as I’ll refer to him hereafter, had three chapters devoted to his lectures; one chapter wherein Raven interviews the foul; and the introductory chapter, where we first meet the rooster.

… One of my favorite yarns was “Trees in the Forest,” which sort of answers the question of “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” I also really liked “The Unfortunate Cockroach Experiment.” As a hater of the vermin, I had no problem laughing at the result of the main character’s experiment when he tried to solve his negative self-esteem issues. “The Bear and the Dentists” was also a bawdy narrative that made me chuckle and shake my head… Of the W.O.C.’s lectures, my favorite was the final one, titled “The Wise Old Chicken Lecture Number 68-7/8.” In this lecture, the W.O.C. gives a discourse on zombie demographics and “how they blend with Western markets.”

… I am rating this anthology 5 out of 5 stars… I will note that even though the book does include anthropomorphism throughout, this is NOT a collection for youngsters…

OnlineBookClub.org

If you’ve ever been told to “wait for it” then you’ll love reading Garber’s book!

[The Chronicles of the Wise Old Chicken], is a hilarious take on fairy tales, fables, and legends as adapted and perhaps fabricated by the author and his son during long rides to and from doctor’s appointments containing a proclivity to have a wise old man, in this case, it is a chicken, who appears and plays a role in all the stories. The Wise Old Chicken is sometimes portrayed as the main character, other times as a narrator or commentator that seems to be the one to enlighten, educate, and reveal a penchant for truth and morals. Each story is a read-alone tale with humor for a more mature reader; leave Aesop’s Fables for the kids!

As a whole, [The Chronicles of the Wise Old Chicken] is a series of tales taken from old tales and half-tales in which the lesson to learn leaps out in a natural, often anticipated ending by the reader. The author gives the impression that one is reading a well-known story while adding silly twists and comical turns to enhance each one. In some of the stories Garber has taken real-life situations and changed them into animal tales and fables as one might expect to read in a children’s book but gives each story an adage and lesson from The Wise Old Chicken. The hilarity of each tale can be foreseen in the title, like The Tree That Couldn’t Fly and The Mushroom Who Loved Bobby Pins. The tales begin almost childlike but each one contains a bit of common sense, which the chicken usually identifies. Most of the adventures are humorous simply because they are what I might describe as sarcastic tales pointing out common sense.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars because it is light reading, fun, and although seemingly nonsensical, makes so much sense! A few of the tales were a bit long, making the reader anxious to just get to the end, but even in stories like this, you want to finish it just to see what role The Wise Old Chicken plays in the story. I would definitely recommend this book.

Stein Writingq (sic)