A game of chess between chickens is disturbed by the loud footsteps of a passing giraffe in this eccentric Turkish wordless picturebook. The chickens try hard to get the attention of the giraffe and the picturebook ends with the arrival of an even bigger creature that scares away all the animals. This funny and idiosyncratic tale is included because of its use of ‘language’. The conversation between the chickens is depicted in a constant flurry of onomatopoeia that makes plain the role of talk in the narrative’s resolution but does not provide access to the contents of that talk. Hence, the use of language is intra-iconic. In this way, readers must impose their own meaning onto the conversation between the chickens. The role of intra-iconic language in the text can provide a funny, indeed loud, way to discuss why and how we talk to each other and the role of dialogue in the resolution of conflict. The focus on language in this text provides a route into the theme of shared inheritances: the role of language in culture and society.
