Henny-Penny [Hardcover]

Jane Wattenberg (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

"Chickabunga!" The alarmist chicken and all her funny feathered friends are back! Henny-Penny thinks the sky is falling when an acorn smacks her on her fine red comb. Come flock along as she and her barnyard pals take a side-splitting trip around the world to tell the king. Jane Wattenberg masterfully retells the classic tale, combining wit and ingenuity in a rythmic text. The brillantly conceived photo-compositions are filled with hilarious details, sure to make the imaginations of readers of all ages take flight.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Panicky Henny-Penny and her fine fearful feathered friends are all in a dither. The sky is falling and they must tell the king! In this hilarious, pun-packed adaptation of the classic tale, Jane Wattenberg updates the text with rockin' rollin' rhythm and hip-hoppin' panache: "'What's buzzin', cousins?' breezed Ducky-Lucky and Drake-Cake." "'Why the scowl, fowl?' gobbled Turkey-Lurkey." "'What's clickin', chicken?' pauwk, pauwked Cocky-Locky." Foxy-Loxy, that cunning cad, that greedy grunge, that skanky prankster, leads the flighty flock straight into his evil lunch room, and that's the end of that for all except Henny-Penny, who squawks: "Chicka-chicka-bunga! I forgot to lay my egg today!" and runs lickety-split home again.

Wattenberg's fantastic photo-compositions feature her very own friendly fowls, as well as some clever non sequiturs of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Stonehenge, and the Egyptian pyramids, among other international landmarks. She is the creator of the bestselling board books Mrs. Mustard's Baby Faces and Mrs. Mustard's Beastly Babies. We can only hope her future plans for picture books don't run a-fowl, because this one is farm-fresh. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5-This is a hip, updated version of the old folktale. The colorful photo-collage art places Henny-Penny in locations around the world from Stonehenge to the Egyptian pyramids to the Taj Mahal as she leads her friends to seek the king. The expressive language, the design, the typeface, and the artwork all enhance the frantic pace and modern mood of the story. "'SHAKE, RATTLE, AND ROLL! THE SKY IS FALLING! IT'S COMING ON DOWN! Henny-Penny saw it and heard it and it SMACKED her on her fine red comb." The barn fowl in the photos always appear to be a bit puzzled while their physical attitudes show them strutting, pondering, and consulting maps. The fox couldn't appear wilier as he lures the group to his den, which has a welcome mat at the entrance. While her friends are being devoured in "FOXY-LOXY's LUNCH ROOM"-complete with take-out signage-the flaky hen, hearing Cocky-Locky's crow, remembers "CHICKA-CHICKA-BUNGA! I FORGOT TO LAY MY EGG TODAY!" and runs home, unharmed. This book is a hoot! It has surefire appeal, especially to reluctant readers. At the same time, the clever and sophisticated presentation will appeal to more advanced readers.
Marlene Gawron, Orange County Library, Orlando, FL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1st edition (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439078172
• ISBN-13: 978-0439078177
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dumb hen in a bright new look!, April 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Henny-Penny (Hardcover)

When I first saw this book, I thought, "Oh, no!", another classic has been ruined! Our pandering to the young with short attention spans continues. I had to change my opinion when I actually took the tour through Jane Wattenberg's book. It is a tour, as our friend from days past sets out on her mission to let everyone know...well, you know! Using photos of real animals was a stroke of genius, it made the book much more humorous and real at the same time. The colors are brighter than in the retellings of classics by Jon Scieska and Lane Smith, the closest books I can think of related to this one in genre and style. This brightness and the smart, sly humor make the book a lot of fun. The busy look of the book becomes integral to the story--everything is there for a reason. My favorite page is the one which has the road signs to help Hen find the king--there are visual puns on every variation of "king" you can think of. I read aloud to classes and decided not to read this to my kindergarten and first graders. There are too many references to events, people and cultural knowledge that they would not understand. Of course, on seeing the book my first thought was that this younger age was the target audience. However, reading it to third graders was a blast! They got enough of the references to find it hilarious and love it! They want to look at it more, because it takes time to find all the fun things. An added bonus is that adults really laugh--a nice break for a teacher in the middle of a school day! I highly recommend this book for older elementary age students and the adults in their lives.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, May 7, 2000

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Henny-Penny (Hardcover)

Jane Wattenberg's updated retelling of Henny Penny is full of rhyme, rhythm and very hip, very colorful language. My five year old can't get enough of this book. The photo illustrations are terrific with some silly surprises thrown in that all children will love to find and figure out. This is one fast paced, action packed, amazing book. Your family will love it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definate Buy for young chlidren, April 10, 2000

By 

Chris Loh - See all my reviews

This review is from: Henny-Penny (Hardcover)

My child is at that age where she loves music and anything with a rhythm. I remember when I was a child and was told this story; well the tale of the sky falling returns with a new twist. My child spends hours just rapping out the catchy lyrics in this remake of a classic story that all children are guaranteed to like. If you have a child within the ages of 6-15, i would recommend this book.