• Leslie Helakoski, author of Big Chickens
Leslie Helakoski was born on March 21, 1960 in Abbeville, Louisiana. She and her five siblings often played in the woods where they encountered scary things like big ditches, cow pastures and wild waterways (er, bayous).

Leslie received a bachelor's degree in Advertising Design from the University of Louisiana and an associate degree in Media Illustration from Northern Michigan University. She always wanted to be an artist but she didn't know she would become a writer. After many happy years in advertising, she turned her mind to illustrating children's books and ended up writing them instead.

She and her husband, Ward, have lived in Louisiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and, for the last 15 years, Michigan. They have three children, Claire, Anders and Connor. Leslie is currently at work on a mid-grade novel and two developing picture books.

Other books by Leslie Helakoski:
The Smushy Bus (Millbrook Press, 2000)
Big Chickens Fly the Coop (Dutton, January 2008)
Woolbur (Harper Collins, Feb. 2008)

• Henry Cole, Illustrator

• Big Chickens Programming and Resource Guide 
Includes suggestions for how art and drama can extend the concepts in Big Chickens, fingerplays, lap bounces, movements, music, lullabies, storytimes, dances, games and more for parents, librarians and caretakers working with infants through grade 2.

• The Author's Big Chickens Activities
Enjoy singing, art, thinking and playing with Big Chickens.