The Little Red Hen is one of the earliest stories I remember my mother telling me. This version, retold by Jerry Pinkney and illustrated with his warm, spiritual realism pops with energy, vitality and curious intensity. The pictures of the animals in this story are preturnaturaly alive. The hen’s hard work and her persistent invitations to the other animals to help her, their repeated refusals, and the little red hen’s ultimate enjoyment of the fruits of her labor with her family, create a third way between righteous individualism and pie-in-the-sky communalism. Or better yet you can talk with your kids about the meaning of the story. Enjoy!
I was just reading this story with my class of 3s last week. I’ll need to snag a copy of this version to read with them. Thank you Charlie!
It’s just such a wonderful, vibrant version, vision of the story. Teachers as storytellers! Love thinking about you sharing the story with children!