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Free-Range Freddy
A colourful new arrival turns the chicken coop upside-down in this delightfully funny rhyming picture book from Rachel Bright, multi-award-winning author of The Lion Inside .
A new egg is ready to hatch, and the chickens all think they know what to expect. But when Freddy bursts from his shell with a multi-coloured explosion, it's clear he's not like ANY other chick they know!
Join Free-Range Freddy as he turns the farmyard upside-down and shows the other hens just how egg-citing life can be if you only look at it a little differently . . .
A delightfully funny rhyming picture book about the importance of being true to oneself and embracing difference. Award-winning wordsmith Rachel Bright, creator of The Lion Inside and The Koala Who Could , pairs with wonderfully talented debut illustrator Isobel Evans, winner of the Carmelite Prize.
A new egg is ready to hatch, and the chickens all think they know what to expect. But when Freddy bursts from his shell with a multi-coloured explosion, it's clear he's not like ANY other chick they know!
Join Free-Range Freddy as he turns the farmyard upside-down and shows the other hens just how egg-citing life can be if you only look at it a little differently . . .
A delightfully funny rhyming picture book about the importance of being true to oneself and embracing difference. Award-winning wordsmith Rachel Bright, creator of The Lion Inside and The Koala Who Could , pairs with wonderfully talented debut illustrator Isobel Evans, winner of the Carmelite Prize.
32 pages, Paperback
First published November 26, 2020
24 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Bright
78 books215 followersRachel is a writer of words, drawer of pictures and champion of silver linings. She exhibits widely, writes tirelessly and frequently creates slightly unhinged characters.
Her written work includes children’s stories and poems, clever advertising copy and lots of other stuff besides. Her illustrative work is a smorgasboard of giant, hand-printed poems, mind-bogglingly detailed gouache illustrations and a cacophony of quirky prints and etchings.
She explores the lovliness of words and the magic of pictures, revelling in a world of jam-eating miniature bears and other made-up animals.
Her work aims to capture a free way of thinking - one which makes you feel anything is possible, a feeling all too easily lost with the end of childhood. When we’re all grown-up, sometimes we just need a little nudge to remember it’s been there all along.
*Rachel has also been an air hostess, a garden designer and a lifeguard. She often runs a really long way and was once invited to the selection of the British ultra running team. She also once won a date with Man of the millennium and has been trying to live it down ever since.
Her written work includes children’s stories and poems, clever advertising copy and lots of other stuff besides. Her illustrative work is a smorgasboard of giant, hand-printed poems, mind-bogglingly detailed gouache illustrations and a cacophony of quirky prints and etchings.
She explores the lovliness of words and the magic of pictures, revelling in a world of jam-eating miniature bears and other made-up animals.
Her work aims to capture a free way of thinking - one which makes you feel anything is possible, a feeling all too easily lost with the end of childhood. When we’re all grown-up, sometimes we just need a little nudge to remember it’s been there all along.
*Rachel has also been an air hostess, a garden designer and a lifeguard. She often runs a really long way and was once invited to the selection of the British ultra running team. She also once won a date with Man of the millennium and has been trying to live it down ever since.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 21, 2021
Good illustrations but I am surprised this book won an award especially with lazy rhyming and using words which don't exist. When your target audience is young children, it really shouldn't be encouraged.
November 4, 2025
Freddy is a wild chick whose impulsive and unpredictable behavior disrupts the orderly peaceful barnyard.
As a parent and a grown-up, I was disappointed by this story. The explicitly stated moral is stated as being: "We're all a little wild sometimes. And guess what? That's OK." This is fine moral per se; it is okay to have an occasional off day, to occasionally go off script, and to occasionally indulge one's baser desires, but this isn't what happens in the story. Freddy isn't just wild sometimes. He is a force of chaos at all times much to the annoyance and discomfort of everyone else. Yet somehow his disrespectful, impudent, and selfish behavior abruptly transforms from a perpetual nuance to a positive influence in the book's final pages.
The portrayal of Freddy's antics as a catalyst for self-discovery and self-expression on the part of the other farm animals is a glorification of inconsiderate and disruptive behavior caused by self-absorption, hyper-individualism, and male entitlement. He does what he wants when he wants without regard for anyone else. It is not something heroic to which young readers should aspire. "Free spirits" rely on boring responsible people to support them (financially, emotionally, and physically), clean up after them, maintain stability, and enable them.
This story is also an embodiment of the common misconception that rule breaking, defiance, and asocial behavior are associated with creativity. Contrary to popular belief, creativity does not thrive in disorder and chaos. It requires practice, organization, self-discipline, set routines, and dedication. The successful creative types unable to do so on their own initiative have managers and handlers who make them do it.
As a parent and a grown-up, I was disappointed by this story. The explicitly stated moral is stated as being: "We're all a little wild sometimes. And guess what? That's OK." This is fine moral per se; it is okay to have an occasional off day, to occasionally go off script, and to occasionally indulge one's baser desires, but this isn't what happens in the story. Freddy isn't just wild sometimes. He is a force of chaos at all times much to the annoyance and discomfort of everyone else. Yet somehow his disrespectful, impudent, and selfish behavior abruptly transforms from a perpetual nuance to a positive influence in the book's final pages.
The portrayal of Freddy's antics as a catalyst for self-discovery and self-expression on the part of the other farm animals is a glorification of inconsiderate and disruptive behavior caused by self-absorption, hyper-individualism, and male entitlement. He does what he wants when he wants without regard for anyone else. It is not something heroic to which young readers should aspire. "Free spirits" rely on boring responsible people to support them (financially, emotionally, and physically), clean up after them, maintain stability, and enable them.
This story is also an embodiment of the common misconception that rule breaking, defiance, and asocial behavior are associated with creativity. Contrary to popular belief, creativity does not thrive in disorder and chaos. It requires practice, organization, self-discipline, set routines, and dedication. The successful creative types unable to do so on their own initiative have managers and handlers who make them do it.
March 5, 2021
Hieman rasittavaa riimittelyä.
May 22, 2023
Cute but slight.
February 9, 2024
Fun picture book about being alternative and bucking the status quo.
February 26, 2021
Ihan kiva. Vauhdikas ja värikäs Verneri opettaa, ettei kaikkea pidä ottaa niin vakavasti. Ja että kun yksi uskaltaa olla oma höpsö itsensä, niin ei muutkaan jaksa aina siitä kotkottaa.
May 19, 2021
Kuvakirja erilaisuudesta mukavalla kuvituksella, eläinteemalla sekä hauskalla riimittelyllä! Pidin erityisesti Vernerin erilaisesta ulkomuodosta, kerrassaan rock!
December 31, 2023
Erilaisuudesta vähän erilaisella tyylillä. Oikein mainio lastenkirja.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews