The Little Red Hen

ABOUT THE BOOK
FAMILY ACTIVITIES

By: Jonathan Allen/ Publisher: Corgi Books

Distribution: March, 2019

Based on the familiar and much-loved story of the hard-working Little Red Hen who asks her farmyard friends to help her make bread. Open the flaps to reveal the lazy animals who are all far too busy to help Little Red Hen sow and water the seed, or harvest and grind the corn. It’s not until she has baked the bread that her friends are keen to help—with eating it! But Little Red Hen has other ideas. The ingenious flaps turn a moral fable into a perfect shared reading experience for very young children.

Family Activities

The hen invites her friends in the farm to help her make bread, but they evade her and only come when it is time to eat. The hen decides not to feed them, and shares her delicious bread with the little mice, who helped her as much as they could.

Video

Dear Parents,

This amusing book provides an important dialogue with our child about their participation in carrying out daily tasks at home. Why does it matter for them to take a role and responsibility in those chores? Which errands suit our child’s ability, and which can they perform in a manner that does not burden them and deny them play and rest?

Sometimes, we may refrain from engaging our child in simple household tasks, such as arranging their toys, preparing the dinner table, or contributing to taking care of a little brother, etc., out of fear for them, to keep them comfortable, and because we believe that they are still too young to do such tasks. But the child needs to be involved in a way that is encouraging and respectful. As they acquire the skills they need in their lives, they gain self-confidence and a social spirit to initiate, cooperate, and help others, and enhance their sense of belonging to the family.

Family Activities

This flip book, which is the first of its kind in the Lantern Library, provides children the ability to guess what is hiding under the cover. We can stop at each cover and encourage our child to guess what is underneath. In repeated readings of the book, we can encourage the child to recall the details of the hidden drawings. For example, what does the hidden animal do, what color is it? What object does it carry?
With our child, we can look back at the stages of bread making, starting from planting seeds and ending with baking bread. If we are growing fruitful plants in the garden or on the balcony of the house, this is an occasion to look at them with our child, and recall the process of planting them until they get to the dining table!
We can chat with our child about the hen’s decision not to feed her friends. Was she right, or not? If we were in the hen’s place, would we feed our friends even though they did not participate?
Do we encounter similar situations at home (for example, if one or both parents, or another family member, does most of the household tasks?) How does this person feel? How can this affect life at home?
Bread from corn! Do we know other plants that we can make bread with?
We can chat with our child about the tasks they can do at home, which are suitable for their abilities, and do not reduce their play or rest time. This is also an opportunity for the family to meet and draw up a “work chart,” in which tasks are distributed among its members. We can add a bit of fun to it! For example, each member can write or draw what they can participate in. Then, we can stick the chart on the refrigerator door as a reminder!
Nothing is more fun for a child than playing with materials. Let’s roll up our sleeves and knead together a delicious bread that the family will enjoy. Let’s also not forget that this experience enriches children’s sensory and mental abilities by introducing concepts of weight, color, texture, size, and most importantly, it gives us a great time with our child!
Bon appetite and enjoy your reading!