ALA Booklist

Kids will adore this big fat hen, and even though the book doesn't really work as the counting book it's supposed to be, the artwork is enough to carry it. The text is the old rhyme, One, two, buckle my shoe, and the double-page spreads show the hen and her chicks (first appearing as eggs) enacting the words. On the pages on which the numbers appear, for instance, 5 6 there are six eggs and five caterpillars, a dual concept that may be difficult for beginning counters to comprehend. The next page, Pick up sticks, is even more chock-full, with chicks and lots of sticks everywhere. Children who want to skip the counting altogether can just enjoy the singsong text and the pictures executed in acrylic paints. The big fat hen is very large and quite beautiful, with iridescent green feathers accented with purple and red; her friends are just as lovely, all colors, some with delicate patterns in their feathers. With oversize characters and objects that can be seen at the very back of the room, this is a ready read-aloud for the story-hour set. (Reviewed Apr. 1, 1994)

Horn Book

The familiar children's counting rhyme is vigorously illustrated with a series of hens trying to catch insects and laying eggs; the resulting chicks perform the actions. Each hen is gloriously different, with brilliant plumage, while every chick is exactly alike.

Kirkus Reviews

In vibrant full-bleed spreads, a boldly graphic rendition of 1, 2, buckle my shoe,'' with the numbers from 1 to 10 enacted by thebig fat hen'' and her friends and their hatching chicks. The spread for each couplet's first line features a decoratively individualized hen with an appropriate number of insects and eggs; in the second, the eggs have hatched and the chicks carry out the action described. The bright, uncluttered acrylic illustrations are rendered in saturated tones strongly outlined in black on a ground of golden yellow, making the figures especially easy to count, while large square pages and bouncy hand lettering add to the visual effectiveness. After the basic rhyme is complete, however, the book's internal logic falters. Six hens are counted, then ``all their eggs'' are presented: 50, i.e., 20 more than appear within the rhyme, while the chicks that hatch from them number only 49. Still, the art is gorgeous. (Picture book. 2-7)"

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Newly hatched chicks star in an ebullient version of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. In a starred review, PW said that Bakers bold outlines, plump figures and vibrant acrylics add up to an especially appealing counting primer. Ages 2-6. (Apr.)

School Library Journal

PreS-A large, brilliantly colored rendition of the counting rhyme ``one, two, buckle my shoe.'' Baker uses an imaginative array of acrylic colors for his hens-greens, purples, and pinks to contrast with the warm, yellow straw background. There are lots of things to count, such as sticks, eggs, chicks, and hens. A fine choice for toddler story hours.-Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT