Customer Reviews

The Chicken of the Family

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an adorable, funny story that parents will enjoy reading to their children. It's a story about a little girl and the sisters that tease her into believing she is a chicken.

Very cute story that's very enjoyable to read. The illustrations are cute and quirky.

Recommend to parents of pre-school to kindergarten ages, both girls and boys will enjoy. Gives a great opportunity to explain why you shouldn't tease your siblings.

Henrietta's two older sisters Kim and Clare were always teasing her and trying to get her upset. Older sisters are good at that sort of thing, but when they told her a big fib she fell for it. "We have a secret to tell you . . . you're a chicken." At first she didn't believe it, but the more information the girls gave her, the more convincing they sounded. They told her she had long toes like a chicken and yellow legs. Well, they were kinda yellow and she sure did have long toes.

"I am not a chicken.
I am not a chicken.
I am not a chicken."

On and on they went and try as she may, she couldn't shake that feeling that she was really a chicken. In the morning when she got out of bed she saw an egg and two feathers. Kim and Clare did say they plucked her feathers out before she got up. WAAAAAA! She really was a chicken and the only thing she could do was to run away to Barney's farm and home to her family . . . a bunch of chickens. Would she ever realize she was just a little girl again?

This charming tale lovingly brings to light what can happen if siblings tease each other needlessly. This imaginary tale has adorable cartoon-like illustrations that are bright and busy. This tale can be read aloud or read alone by the more advanced young reader. This story, understandably, has been nominated for the Vermont Red Clover Award for the 2009-10 season. It is a children's choice picture book and will be a sure fire hit with any youngster!

I thought this was the most fabulous and cutest book ever! It not only teaches a lesson for children but it is fun to read. Children and adults alike will love this book. A must for your libray, whether you have children or grandchildren (or older siblings)!

My 1 year old son LOVES this book. It is his favorite, and he has LOTS of books to choose from. We have read it so many times he has the story memorized and shouts out the words in the parts that are his favorite. It's a cute story, and the illustrations are bright and colorful and fun. I highly recommend it.

I have read this book to my four-year old daughter every morning during breakfast for the last six months and we completely enjoy it. She relishes every word and picture in the story, saying the dialogue with me and asking questions. My daughter is fascinated by the dynamic between the sisters and loves the humor. I enjoy reading it out loud. It is fun to do these voices.

It is the sacred duty of the eldest child to deviously taunt the youngest sibling. If one can do so with the aid of middle siblings, all the better. It is equally the duty of the youngest sibling to both believe the most gullible lies delivered by the oldest sibling and find an equally clever, but innocent, way to get their revenge.

And so we have The Chicken of the Family.

Henrietta is woken from her sleep and told by her oldest sister Kim that she isn't really a member of the family, she is a chicken, acquired from the farm down the road. Middle sister Claire's job is to go along with the joke, the support of two people saying the same thing giving the statement the weight of truth. Henrietta doesn't believe it's true until she wakes up in the morning and finds an egg in her bed and a couple of feathers on the floor.

Certain now that she is truly a chicken she runs away, down the road to the farm where she takes her rightful place in the chicken yard. Henrietta has no qualms adjusting to her new life as a chicken, scratching and taking a dust bath and playing follow the leader.

Kim and Claire arrive with a directive from their parents to admit their prank and bring Henrietta home. The only problem is that Henrietta is enjoying herself too much, feels she really is a chicken, and refuses to follow. Exasperated, Kim decides to call for back-up from her parents but Claire has decided to stay -- she's broken away from her sister's scheme after seeing what fun it is to be a chicken. Henrietta and Claire do trundle on home just in time to see their older sister getting chewed out for causing this fiasco.

"Sometimes it's good to be a chicken."

Indeed, sometimes embracing your gullibility is no different than embracing what makes you unique. Accepting what her sisters have told her, Henrietta is free to discover what it means to be different. She knows she's not a chicken on some level, just as she doesn't run away to get her sister in trouble, but along the way she's learned something about herself, about another culture (if you will), and about the things others will do to control you.

Yes, this is a deeper reading that a light and fluffy picture book deserves, but it's true: sometimes it is good to be a chicken.

The recommended age for this story is 4-8 years. However, the kids in the book are really mean, calling each other "dumbhead" and "chicken," and convincing the littlest sister that she lays eggs at night and the family eats them for breakfast. My four year old had never heard these insults and since reading the book once, he has used the terms several times! Now I've got to discipline him for calling a friend "dumbhead," thanks to this book.

This would be a funny read for the older siblings when they are over the age of 8 years, so they can appreciate the humor and learn not to tease the little ones.

Received this book as part of the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library monthly book. Read it once with our just turned '4' year old and had to 'ad lib' from the start. Sisters calling sisters 'stupidhead', playing tricks on each other, running away from home because of what your sisters tell you (that you are a chicken and not feeling welcome at home with mom and dad who are 'humans') and the list goes on. I can't believe this story wasn't rejected from the get go...if this got printed...I believe anyone can write a children's story and get it printed. Desires a '0' on the rating scale.