Blog #18 The Little Red Hen

The Little Red Hen

Newly Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Dial Books
2006
29 pages

Traditional Literature

          I chose this book because I love Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations. This is the classic tale of The Little Red Hen. The red hen finds some wheat seeds. She asks her barnyard friends help her plant the seeds, but no one will help her. She then asks them to help her tend the seeds, harvest the wheat, carry the wheat to the mill, and bake the ingredients to make the bread. No one would help her. When finally it came time to eat the fruits of her hard work, everyone wanted a piece of the pie. The red hen told the others that because they did not help her with anything else they could not eat her bread with her.

          Jerry Pinkney’s illustration style is unmistakably detailed. He uses graphite, ink, and watercolor on paper. This mixture of medium allows him to create detailed hashing with layered saturations of color. The entire book is done using double paged spreads. The style of the book is informal because the words are interspersed throughout the pictures but are in structured stanzas and the same font throughout. The illustrations of this book are so detailed the reader feels as though he/she is walking through the barnyard with the red hen. 

          This book would be a great tool for character education when teaching students about doing their part and working as a group. Because this is a universal social skill that all students need to learn, this could be read to older students before group projects to remind students that they must all pull their own weight in the group. For younger students, this book would also be great to use with colors. In this particular book, each character’s name is printed in the color that describes that animal. For second grade students, this book could be used to introduce sequencing.

To visit Jerry Pinkney's website, click on his name.