Where do I start with this book? Being from Kentucky and the son of a preacher man, this retelling of an Appalachian folk tale is an absolute riot. A preacher follows the scent of fried chicken wafting in the air to a parishioner's house where he invites himself in for supper...his last supper. After choking on a chicken bone, the friendly church folk must find a way to "get shed of Old Dry Frye" before they get "strung up for murder." What follows is a classic tale of misfortune that comes upon each new person who stumbles upon Old Dry Frye's corpse. Everybody knows Old Dry Frye! And yes, there really is a town in Kentucky called Monkey's Eyebrow.
Paul Johnson does an incredible job with the accents and colloquialisms in the story. I have seen several retellings of this old folktale and I think I like his the best, he nails all the language and sets up the "gotcha" moments just right. I can imagine this being told and retold on front porches and around campfires with banjoes in tow. ( )

Old Dry Frye was a preacher who loved fried chicken. If you were having fried chicken for dinner, he knew about it. When Old Dry Frye was making Sunday rounds, he stopped at a farmhouse and his timing could not have been better. The family was having fried chicken for dinner. Old Dry Frye chocked on a chicken bone and died right there on the spot. He was then passed around from neighbor to neighbor because they were afraid of being accused of killing him. This story has great humor which I think children will really like. ( )

I love the humor of this story. I have noticed a repetition in many of the folklore stories I have read and I believe this is actually a great technique. I believe students will really enjoy this book for its humor and repetition. I truly enjoyed it and would love to have it in my classroom. ( )

This is a tall tale about a preacher who loves to eat fried chicken. One day he was eating with a family and he choked on a chicken bone and died. The people tried to hide him in various places so they wouldn't be accused of killing him since he was well known. ( )

Old Dry Frye loves eating fried chicken, but when he goes to eat at a neighbor’s house he chocks. The neighbors all panic because they do not want to get blamed for Old Dry Frye chocking. They pass him from neighbor to neighbor to escape the blame, but Old Dry Frye plays a trick on them. This is a great book for children to read because it teaches them about fables. ( )