The Little Red Hen

Bys: Public Domain and Public, Domain

When the Little Red Hen asks the other barnyard animals who will help with the planting, reaping, and other chores they all say, Not I, but when the work is done they all want a reward.

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689859627
• ISBN13: 9780689859625
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.3" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

the little red hen

It was the most funniest book I have read. The pictuers were the most funnies. The hiar of The Little Red Hen was funny and with the glases. I think it teaches a lesten you must be kind to each other.

New twist to an old story

I recently did a study of Little Red Hen stories for a traditional children's literature assignment and Downward's version was my favorite. He takes the most basic elements of the story...hen, three barnyard friends, and their repetitious "Not I" answers, and adds his unique style of photo-illustration. Through digital manipulation, he has composed some hilarious pictures of the animals in action. My favorites are the hen on a bicycle, taking the flour to the mill, and a shot of the animals huddled around a TV set watching the film, "Hairy Trotter" (with a spectacled pig as the main character.) It is a fun read that kids should love.

Chicken with a scythe

It never rains but it pours. Recently I had the chance to review a delightful picture book entitled, "Jamela's Dress" by South African author/illustrator Niki Daly. That done I moved on to read and review some other picture books on my list. I found a fabulous and relatively new retelling of an old story by Barry Downard entitled, "The Little Red Hen" and settled in to read it. To my surprise, Mr. Downard is ALSO a resident of South Africa. Now I've been reviewing picture books for a very long time (which is to say, roughly one year) and I never ran across any South African creators in my travels... ever. Suddenly within a single week I read not one but two, practically in a row. It seems to me that perhaps we are seeing a definite increase in South African picture book popularity. I, for one, am not opposed to the notion. But to get back to the book. "The Little Red Hen" contains perhaps one of the most straightforward, shan't deviate from the text, retellings of the originally story I've ever perused. I'm sure you know the tale, but if not I'll sum it up for you. Once there was a little red hen who lived with three lousy no-goodnik animals. When the little red hen discovers some grains of wheat (where she finds them is left somewhat unclear) she asks the duck, the pig, and the cat if they want to help her plant it. They decline. When it's time to harvest she makes a similar request and they, once more, decline. This continues as she takes the wheat to the mill then bakes it into delicious mouth-watering bread. When the hen makes a final offer of "Who will help me eat the bread", the other animals are suddenly very interested in being useful. However, the little red hen was just asking so that she could throw it in their faces that since they never helped her, their share would be zippo. So she eats it all up herself, to their chagrin. Anyone who reads through this story and doesn't flash back to Jon Scieszka's version of it in "The Stinky Cheese Man" is made of stronger stuff than I. However, Barry Downard's retelling will definitely keep you from thinking of anything BUT his own particularly unique method of illustration. You see, Barry's one of those newfangled computer graphic illustrators living in the world today. In what the bookflap describes as "photo collage", Barry has taken pictures of real hens, cats, pigs, and ducks and given them particularly anthropomorphic tendencies. The hen herself sports a pair of round bright blue glasses, looking like nothing so much as small feathered version of Janet Reno. The pig, a loathsome tusky fellow, wears a backwards baseball cap whose entire logo is enragingly impossible to read. The cat and duck don't have any especially interesting tendencies. They just lounge and lay back. As the hen bustles about, the others engage in everything from checkers and sunbathing to playing poker and pool. Perhaps most baffling for me was an odd picture in which everyone sits around w

Good Book

I do not agree with the comments that Jehu You has written. The said author of this book is actually the illustrator. The story of the Red Hen has been told for centuries, and was actually written down and published by Joseph Jacobs in the late nineteenth century. The story had been around for many years before that, just not in written form. The tale is similar to one of Aesop's fables, teaching a great deal of morality and responsibility. When Jehu You writes that the other animals have "better things to do"- those things include tanning themselves, playing cards, playing pool,watching a movie,and playing checkers. The other animals do not help the little red hen when she asks. This story does not teach selfishness and gluttony. The little red hen asked for help and was not given help. The three lazy farm animals want to reap the benefits of the hens work, without having to help. I want my child to learn that helping others can produce a wonderful reward. I read this book to her frequently, and hope that she learns about being a productive member of society.

Sooo Funny!

Lighten up Jehu You! You are taking this book way too sereous! Kids understand humor and funny stuff more than you think we do. You better not read Mr. Wolf's Pancakes. It is really extreem and FUNNY!