From the Publisher
"Oh joy of joys!" That’s the last line of The Little Red Hen, and it is also the perfect expression of how the book makes readers feel. The beloved story of the hardworking hen and her lazy neighbors, with its Golden Rule message and its sassy finale, is just as relevant and satisfying as ever. And who better to enliven it than the masterful Jerry Pinkney, who, through his warm, winsome, and slyly funny depiction, has created a definitive interpretation of the tale. Cheerful and classically beautiful, this is the ideal edition for every child’s library.
Author Biography: Jerry Pinkney is the recipient of five Caldecott Honor Medals, five Coretta Scott King Awards, three New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Awards, a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and many other prizes and honors. He has served on the U.S. Postal Service Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee and is currently a member of the National Council on the Arts, and his artwork has been exhibited in galleries throughout the country. Mr. Pinkney lives in Westchester County, New York.
Publishers Weekly
Caldecott Honor artist Pinkney puts a sprightly spin on this classic tale with resplendent artwork that comically conveys the title character's energy-and her barnyard colleagues' sloth. The little red hen bids a cheerful "Good morning!" to a smiling sun in the luminous opening spread, in which even the garden flowers and fence slats have faces. Kids will gleefully chime in as the lazy animals, rendered realistically at close range, reiterate the familiar "Not I" response to the hen's repeated requests for help. Adding further verve to the spreads, each animal's name appears in a hue that corresponds to its feathers, fur or hide. The fiery heroine pointedly attempts to draft the critters' help by pointing out its defining characteristics (while attempting to draft the dog's aid in planting the seeds, she says, "Surely you will [help].... You are so fond of digging"), making their refusal the more biting. With feathers a-flutter, a determined countenance and straw bonnet tied under her chin, the little red hen cuts quite an appealing figure as she tackles her tasks surrounded by her adorable, fuzzy chicks. She dons a stylish shawl as she sets off-solo-to the mill, where smiling Mr. Miller grounds her grain into flour and presents her with a jar of berry jam. Capturing the contentment of the moment when the little red hen and her brood share the fruits of her labors, the tale's final words are "Oh joy of joys!"-bread and book alike. Ages 4-up. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
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Children's Literature
A classic is classic; it lasts because it tells a good story. The tale of The Little Red Hen, whom no one will help plant and tend the wheat or bake the bread, has its satisfying conclusion when she and her family sit down to eat the warm bread while the lazy dog, rat, goat, and pig do not. Pinkney tells the tale briskly, in a lively and humorous fashion, with the repetition of the "not I" that so delights young listeners. From her jacket/cover portrait, in beribboned straw hat and colored shawl, where she supports the arch of the title on her outstretched wings, we can tell we are dealing with a resolute fowl. Another full-page portrait as hen strides into the book replaces the title page and a sweeping view of her world crosses the next two pages. Pinkney's graphite, ink, and watercolor illustrations in his usual detailed, naturalistic style, show us a quartet of lazy creatures in contrast to the almost obsessively active hen and her chicks. The type of the tale turns red for the hen, brown for the "short brown dog," gray for the "thin gray rat," darker black for the "tall black goat," and pink for the "round pink pig." Mr. Miller, who grinds the wheat, seems to be a portrait of Pinkney himself joining the story, with his tubes of paint and jars of pens in a corner of the mill. Fun for many sessions of reading and listening with a subtle lesson included. 2006, Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers Group, Ages 3 to 7.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 4-Important lessons of work ethics, initiative, and natural consequence are delivered in the latest addition to what might be considered the "Pinkney classic bookshelf"-a lush, light-filled rendition of a folktale staple. The colorful, feather-full frontispiece features a full-page portrait of the heroine herself, wordlessly inviting children to turn the page with a cunningly crooked wing. You know the story; in this version, the jaunty, straw-hat-wearing Red Hen pops against golden, sun-bleached, full-bleed backgrounds. Her stunning farmyard neighbors dwarf her, emphasizing her stature (both physical and social). But a single mom's got to do what she's got to do to put bread on the table, and so she asks for assistance. She's a smart old bird: she flatters each animal as she appeals to him to use his particular skill (the dog is a fine digger; the rat, a champion chopper; the goat would be great at pulling; and the pig, well, at pigging) to help. Still, she's met with that familiar refrain-"Not I." There's a lot of heart in the details here: Pinkney puts in a self-portrait appearance as hard-working Mr. Miller, and the passage of time is subtly marked by the growth of the hen's five chicks, who begin as balls of yellow fluff and are markedly bigger by story's end. The animal's names appear in color-coded font (red for the hen, brown for the dog, etc.), making it extra-easy even for pre-readers to chime in, and the glorious, generous paintings are a real gift. "Oh joy of joys!"-Kathy Krasniewicz, Perrot Library, Old Greenwich, CT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
In this pointed retelling of the familiar tale, Pinkney expands the cast by giving the industrious title bird a bevy of chicks, plus not three but four indolent animal neighbors, all of which are drawn naturalistically and to scale in big, comical farmyard watercolors. The plot follows its usual course: Hen finds the seed, tends and harvests the stand of grain by herself (the artist gives himself a cameo as the kindly miller, who not only grinds the crop, but provides a free jar of berry jam), then bakes an aromatic loaf of bread. The slothful dog, pig, rat and goat are not invited to share. The text too is a bit longer than other versions, maintaining its comfortably predictable structure but with extra detail and comments ("A very busy hen was she!") folded in-perfect, as are the pictures, for sharing with one listener, or a crowd. (Picture book/folktale. 4-7)
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