The Little Red Hen - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803729359 ISBN 13: 9780803729353

Publisher: Dial Books, 2006

Synopsis

Caldecott Medal winner Jerry Pinkney enlivens the beloved fable with cheerful and classically beautiful illustrations, making this the ideal edition for every child’s library.
 
As he did with his Caldecott-winning The Lion and the Mouse, Jerry Pinkney has masterfully adapted this story of the hardworking hen and her lazy neighbors. Its Golden Rule message and sassy finale are just as relevant and satisfying as ever. Read it in tandem with Pinkney’s Puss in Boots and The Tortoise and the Hare or David Wiesner’s The Three Pigs.
 
 
"Perfect [for] sharing with one listener, or a crowd." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
 
“Cheerful [and] luminous. Kids will gleefully chime in.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“A lush light-filled rendition of a folktale staple.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

About this title

About the Author

Jerry Pinkney was one of America’s most acclaimed illustrators. He won the Caldecott Medal, five Caldecott Honors, five Coretta Scott King Awards, five Coretta Scott King Honors, five New York Times Best Illustrated Awards, the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the Society of Illustrators’ Original Art Show Lifetime Achievement Award, and many other prizes and honors. His long list of celebrated titles includes Mirandy and Brother Wind, The Little Red Hen, The Little Match Girl, and The Lion & The Mouse. His family includes a number of acclaimed children's book creators: his son, artist Brian Pinkney; his daughter-in-law, author and children's book editor Andrea Davis Pinkney; and his granddaughter, author-illustrator Charnelle Pinkney Barlow.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 4 Important lessons of work ethics, initiative, and natural consequence are delivered in the latest addition to what might be considered the Pinkney classic bookshelf a lush, light-filled rendition of a folktale staple. The colorful, feather-full frontispiece features a full-page portrait of the heroine herself, wordlessly inviting children to turn the page with a cunningly crooked wing. You know the story; in this version, the jaunty, straw-hat-wearing Red Hen pops against golden, sun-bleached, full-bleed backgrounds. Her stunning farmyard neighbors dwarf her, emphasizing her stature (both physical and social). But a single mom's got to do what she's got to do to put bread on the table, and so she asks for assistance. She's a smart old bird: she flatters each animal as she appeals to him to use his particular skill (the dog is a fine digger; the rat, a champion chopper; the goat would be great at pulling; and the pig, well, at pigging) to help. Still, she's met with that familiar refrain Not I. There's a lot of heart in the details here: Pinkney puts in a self-portrait appearance as hard-working Mr. Miller, and the passage of time is subtly marked by the growth of the hen's five chicks, who begin as balls of yellow fluff and are markedly bigger by story's end. The animal's names appear in color-coded font (red for the hen, brown for the dog, etc.), making it extra-easy even for pre-readers to chime in, and the glorious, generous paintings are a real gift. Oh joy of joys! Kathy Krasniewicz, Perrot Library, Old Greenwich, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PreS-K. The familiar story of the hen unable to get help receives the full Pinkney visual treatment here: meticulously crafted watercolors depicting a cast of unique characters. However, unlike Pinkney's Caldecott Honor Book, Noah's Ark (2002), this story doesn't offer much opportunity for action scenes. Consequently, the spreads are a bit static, focusing on the rat, the goat, the pig, and the dog who refuse to help Hen make the bread but are perfectly willing to share the finished product. The hen appears on the cover, red as an autumn leaf and decked out in a shawl and a hat, but the other animals are truer to their mangy, dirty natures (you can almost smell the goat). The miller who grinds the flour and gives the hen some jam is a nice touch; in fact, he looks a lot like Pinkney. Perfect for reading aloud, this picture book will be a solid addition to the folklore shelves. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Dial Books
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803729359
• ISBN 13: 9780803729353
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Jerry Pinkney
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32