My Hen Is Dancing

Read and Wonder

by Karen Wallace, Anita Jeram (Illustrator)

A colorful picture book, full of realistic details and interesting farmyard facts, features a boy explaining all about his energetic hen, telling how she eats, sleeps, cares for her chicks, and much more.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 12, 1993

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly, the author did not take advantage of any Funky Chicken jokes. Or happily, depending on your point of view.

Seriously -- this was a good book about keeping six chickens on a farm (one rooster and five hens.) Just why they're kept is not gone into, but the book hints that sales of the chicks and possibly the eggs are the hobby of Our Protagonist, a small boy.

There is a look at basic chicken behavior, hatching chicks, and why chickens seem to dance when feeding naturally for insects. The text is divided into two fonts, with the smaller font being harder to read if your eyes are a bit wonky.

The full-color illustrations by Anita Jeram are far better than the text. They also add more to the text, such as a horse leaning over a fence to snatch some greenery in the chicken pen. The boy also has a white rabbit in a hutch with a large water bottle, showing he has other pets (because I highly doubt his busy farmer parents would bother with a rabbit, considering they have a flock of sheep.) She also did a variety of chicken breeds for the endpapers.

Although not a great book about chickens, it is a wonderful book of chicken art.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay

[Freddie D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non-fiction that's presented in a story-like format to make learning about chickens engaging and fun.

[Pipa Guest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely story with great facts panels in the text.