Mary Jane Auch and Herb Auch, Beauty and the Beaks

We all know what we look forward to in the latter part of November - Thanksgiving Day and juicy, succulent roast turkey. But, as that time approaches, how does a turkey feel? The writing/illustrating team of Mary Jane and Herm Auch tell just how it is in Beauty And The Beak; their uproarious tale of Lance, a conceited turkey whose beak is out of joint because he's the only one invited to a feast. Why, he's so stuck up that he doesn't know that the feast is him.

Fortunately, he finds a friend in Beauty, who owns a beauty shop, The Chic Hen. It's here that all the chickens come to be spruced up and, of course, to gossip. When Lance arrives all of them think he's the saddest looking hen they've ever seen. When Beauty discovers he is really a turkey, she begins to wonder just what kind of a feast he's been invited to attend.

She flies to the farmhouse to do a little investigating, and her heart stops when she peeks in a pantry window and sees a cookbook open to "Roast Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing."

The plan Beauty and the other hens devise to save Lance is hilarious, and illustrations are laugh-out-loud funny. Beauty and the Beaks will bring smiles to grown-ups and laughter to youngsters. Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke