Customer Reviews

Henny Penny (Clarion books)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Henny Penny by Paul Galdone is not your modern PC story and perhaps that is why it is on my enter-kindergartener's Summer Reading List.

Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, and the rest of the credulous crew are in the end, consumed by Foxy Loxy and his family. This last is the one addition that Galdone makes: a more personable approach to the fox. He was only feeding his family.

Henny Penny is an old classic fairytale. Like many old tales it contains lessons and opportunities to teach. Besides the lesson that one ought not to take things at face value, all of the names (Loxy Foxy, Goosey Loosey, etc.) rhyme which give the beginning reader the opportunity to see that names that are spelt similarly, sound similarly.

Buy this if you want the classic version for your child's library.

Hungarian-born New York artist Paul Galdone created the definitive version of a famous children's tale. "Henny Penny," as presented here, is the one anyone in their mid-40s or younger will know.

The dramatic call "The sky is falling!" and the frantic gathering of friends to tell the king that some kind of barnyard armageddon has hit begins the story. Henny, not realizing an acorn bounced off her head, overreacts. Presuming the worst, she takes on the responsibility of being the bearer of bad news.

With bold brush strokes and rich colors, the classic adventure brings together the feathered friends of Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, Turkey Lurkey with Henny, and the very mischievous Foxy Loxy.

Paul Galdone's ample use of two-page spreads display the excitement as Henny meets one bird after another.

I fully recommend "Henny Penny" by Paul Galdone.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

NOT to be confused with the tale of the little red hen. Weve all heard, at one time or another, the tale of silly Henny Penny. Hit on the head by an acorn the silly chicken is convinced that the sky is falling. Running to tell the king she meets up with a range of different avian types until finally coming to crafty Foxy Loxy. This 1968 creation undoubtedly won many a supporter back in its day. A classic story, it deserved a classy set-up. Unfortunately, the book has not aged as well as it might have. Illustrator Paul Galdones story is a bit dull for a while, and then it suddenly becomes a little shocking at the end. In true fairy tale fashion, Foxy Loxy and his brood have a fine feast from their silly feathered friends. Theres nothing particularly gratuitous about this. You dont see Henny Penny & Friends actually eaten. Nor are there any leftover remains when we view the parting shot of Foxy Loxy and his family. On the other hand, children who (for whatever reason) have grown attached to the silly birds arent going to enjoy the black page that simply reads, From that day to this Turkey Lurkey, Goosey Loosey, Ducky Lucky, Cocky Locky, and Henny Penny have never been seen again. I dunno. Maybe Im being too modern. If the children of the late 1960s could take this book, shouldnt we assume our kids can today?

Perhaps. On the other hand, theres no getting around the fact that the book is (forgive me, but it is true) not particularly well illustrated. Its not badly illustrated, mind you. Just the same, the pictures arent anything to crow about. Theyre flat. Colored occasionally in red, green or yellow. The three color palette may suit some, but it does grow a little wearisome to the wandering eye. If youre dead set on introducing your kids to the tale of Henny Penny, I suggest you seek out other more entrancing versions of this tale. For all its age and maturity, this is a simultaneously dull and shocking book to be reading the kiddie set at night.

Rhyming patterns help with spelling. A student can see the endings of words are the same and follow the patterns for other unfamiliar words. This makes decoding and spelling unknown words easier: Henny, Penny, Lenny, etc. fox, box, lox, pox. Follow-up with any Dr.Seuss book to reinforce rhyming and spelling.

I bought this for my 7-year-old niece. She's a fairly advanced reader and is very picky, but seemed to enjoy this book. It's a classic, so you cannot go wrong whether you're a parent, grandparent, uncle or aunt buying for a small child.

I loved this book as a child and I think all kids will like this charming story. As an "aside", not part of the review really, the info "about the author" says Paul Galdone was born in 1914 and died in 1986?? Really? that made him like 172 yrs old!

We are tremendous fans of Paul Galdone -- including his "Three Fox Fables" and his "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." By getting right in close to the animals, his illustrations put your kids into the book.

This book is the basic fairy tale, exactly as you remember it, with the tragic ending of the birds who run "a-fowl" of their good sense and trust Foxy Loxy. Cute and well-sated fox family peers out at you from the last page.

So well done.

If you want to act this out, there is a great craft for making all the characters in a book called Crafts Favorite Children'S Sto (Crafts from your favorite Children's Stories) by Kathy Ross.

I remember reading this book as a child and still love it!!! I was happy when my son's teacher placed it on his reading list. It's very much a classic!!!

I've been teaching young children for years and this version of "Henny Penny" is a book I read again and again. Galdone tells the story simply and with rhythmic, repetitive language that holds children's attention as much as the story itself. Of course, children love to feel smart and they feel much smarter than Henny Penny, who thinks the sky is falling down! ("Only rain falls down," one child assured me.) The illustrations are lovely. I especially love the way Galdone keeps the traditional ending (the fox eats the unsuspecting animals) but turns it around, so the last image is the happy Fox family with lots of cute little fox children. Best of all, children love to repeat the funny rhyming names - they could read this book all day!

This book is a joy to read. A parent can enthusiastically pick this one up and throw themselves into reading it and your children will be delighted by the energy and repetitive narrative structure of this book.

The book is well written and easily memorized. Despite the repetition in the book it is a joy to read because of its frenetic pace.