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The Little Red Hen
Little Red Hen is a time-tested cautionary tale about how we reap what we sow. When the hen asks a cat, dog, and mouse for help planting some wheat, she gets no takers: "‘Not I!’ said the cat. ‘Not I!’ said the dog. ‘Not I!’ said the mouse." They won’t water, cut, or grind the wheat . . . or help bake a cake with it, either. So guess who eats the cake by herself in the end? The Caldecott Honor artist Paul Galdone’s delightfully detailed ink and wash illustrations—packed with charming details—add plenty of sly humor to the well-loved story that not only offers a sage message but also shows children what it takes to make a cake from the ground up!
40 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
43 people are currently reading
1139 people want to read
About the author
Paul Galdone
280 books88 followersPaul Galdone (1907 - November 7, 1986) was a children's literature author and illustrator. He was born in Budapest and he emigrated to the United States in 1921. He studied art at the Art Student's League and New York School for Industrial Design. He served for the US Army during world War II.
He illustrated nearly all of Eve Titus' books including the Basil of Baker Street series which was translated to the screen in the animated Disney film, The Great Mouse Detective.
Galdone and Titus were nominated for Caldecott Medals for Anatole (1957) and Anatole and the Cat (1958). The titles were later named Caldecott Honor books in 1971.
He died of a heart attack in Nyack, New York. He was posthumously awarded the 1996 Kerlan Award for his contribution to children's literature. His retellings of classic tales like "The Little Red Hen" or "Three Billy Goats Gruff" have become staples.
He illustrated nearly all of Eve Titus' books including the Basil of Baker Street series which was translated to the screen in the animated Disney film, The Great Mouse Detective.
Galdone and Titus were nominated for Caldecott Medals for Anatole (1957) and Anatole and the Cat (1958). The titles were later named Caldecott Honor books in 1971.
He died of a heart attack in Nyack, New York. He was posthumously awarded the 1996 Kerlan Award for his contribution to children's literature. His retellings of classic tales like "The Little Red Hen" or "Three Billy Goats Gruff" have become staples.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 288 reviews
November 4, 2017
A little hard work goes a long way. When Neo and I took it upon ourselves to read this story, we learned all about the hard work the little red hen undertook to keep the house running. While her lazy roommates sleep the days away, she cultivates some wheat and goes through the laborious process to turn it into flour, before making a delicious treat. While no one wants to help with the chores, when a sweet-smelling cake emerges from the oven, everyone wants their share. Little do they know, the free ride ends there. Neo got the moral from the story without my needing to inch him in the right direction. Interesting that he picked it up, yet cannot think of one instance he might have been guilty of expecting without helping.
November 5, 2012
Main Characters: Hen, Cat, Dog, and Mouse
Setting: The setting takes place in the animals' cozy little house.
Grade/Interest Level: Primary
Reading Level: 510L
Genre: Traditional Literature
Summary:
The Little Red Hen, written by Paul Galdone, is a story about four animals (Hen, Cat, Dog, and Mouse) living together in a cozy little house. Cat, Dog, and Mouse like to spend their days being lazy and sleeping, which causes Hen to do all of the work around the home. While gardening, Hen asks which of her friends will plant the wheat for her and all three of them respond "Not I", causing Hen to do this task by herself. This process continues on throughout the story as Hen asks the others to do tasks for her, but ends up doing them on her own. In the end, the wheat is used to create a cake that the others are eager to eat, but Hen informs them that she will eat the cake all by herself because she had to do all the work by herself. On top of an enjoyable story, the illustrations of the animals working and sleeping adds to the overall charm of this book.
Classroom Use:
I would like to use this book as a read aloud in a primary classroom. The book sends a good message that you should have to put in some work if you want the rewards. I would like to discuss with my students if they take the side of Hen or if they think she is being unfair by not sharing the cake, which I think could lead to an interesting and important conversation about fairness and helping others.
Setting: The setting takes place in the animals' cozy little house.
Grade/Interest Level: Primary
Reading Level: 510L
Genre: Traditional Literature
Summary:
The Little Red Hen, written by Paul Galdone, is a story about four animals (Hen, Cat, Dog, and Mouse) living together in a cozy little house. Cat, Dog, and Mouse like to spend their days being lazy and sleeping, which causes Hen to do all of the work around the home. While gardening, Hen asks which of her friends will plant the wheat for her and all three of them respond "Not I", causing Hen to do this task by herself. This process continues on throughout the story as Hen asks the others to do tasks for her, but ends up doing them on her own. In the end, the wheat is used to create a cake that the others are eager to eat, but Hen informs them that she will eat the cake all by herself because she had to do all the work by herself. On top of an enjoyable story, the illustrations of the animals working and sleeping adds to the overall charm of this book.
Classroom Use:
I would like to use this book as a read aloud in a primary classroom. The book sends a good message that you should have to put in some work if you want the rewards. I would like to discuss with my students if they take the side of Hen or if they think she is being unfair by not sharing the cake, which I think could lead to an interesting and important conversation about fairness and helping others.
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February 4, 2019This story really makes me think back to being younger, with my siblings and refusing to help our mom with anything unless forced. It makes me feel a little guilty for all the times my mom was doing a million things and asked for my help with a simple task and I refused solely because I just didn't want to put in the effort. I also think it is important how the ending is emphasized by allowing the hen to eat her delicious cake all by herself. She did all the work, from start to finish, she deserves to enjoy it.
When I graduate, I look to teach grades K-2 mostly, so this would be a good story to integrate into my classroom. Instilling a mindset of hard work with a payoff, at a young age, is important. This is something that when introduced to young, children can develop as they continue to go through school and continue to apply to their lives as they grow into adults. I think it would cool and effective to do some sort of classroom activity with this fable. Either some sort of game or craft where the children could spend some time putting some dedicated time into it and then get to enjoy their outcome, but ONLY if they actually participated.
The biggest indicator that this story is a fable is the ending. Throughout the entire story, the dog, the cat, and the mouse refuse to help because they are perfectly content doing nothing. At the end when they smell the delicious cake and want a piece, the hen tells them no because they did not help her a single bit. The very last page says that after this incident, every time the hen wanted help, she had three very eager helpers. This shows children that the dog, the cat, and the mouse learned the lesson of putting in the work to get the pay off they were looking for, which was cake in this instance.
When I graduate, I look to teach grades K-2 mostly, so this would be a good story to integrate into my classroom. Instilling a mindset of hard work with a payoff, at a young age, is important. This is something that when introduced to young, children can develop as they continue to go through school and continue to apply to their lives as they grow into adults. I think it would cool and effective to do some sort of classroom activity with this fable. Either some sort of game or craft where the children could spend some time putting some dedicated time into it and then get to enjoy their outcome, but ONLY if they actually participated.
The biggest indicator that this story is a fable is the ending. Throughout the entire story, the dog, the cat, and the mouse refuse to help because they are perfectly content doing nothing. At the end when they smell the delicious cake and want a piece, the hen tells them no because they did not help her a single bit. The very last page says that after this incident, every time the hen wanted help, she had three very eager helpers. This shows children that the dog, the cat, and the mouse learned the lesson of putting in the work to get the pay off they were looking for, which was cake in this instance.
January 25, 2013
"The Little Red Hen" is a cute story about a house of animals that live together. The cat, dog, and mouse are all very lazy and leave all of the chores to be done by the little red hen. Chores included tending to the wheat in the garden, and that took many careful steps. Without help, the hen took care of the wheat until it grew full enough to be cut and milled into flour for a cake. She made the cake all by herself. When it was time to eat it, the other members of the house wanted to help her eat the cake, but the hen ate the entire thing by herself. She did not want help in eating the reward for all of the hard work she had put in herself. This was a hard lesson for the other animals to learn, but from then on out, they helped the hen with her work so they would not miss out on a potential reward again.
I really enjoyed reading this story. The repetition of the phrase "Not I" from the lazy animals reinforced the lesson that they learned: hard work can pay off later. The more work they put off, the more the animals missed out on later. This fable provides that valuable lesson to young readers, as well as a story worth rereading and retelling again. I give the story 4 out of 5 stars. I leave out the final star because the use of the word "and" is excessive and incorrect; it may give a young reader a wrong impression of how to use the word "and" correctly. That aside, "The Little Red Hen" is a very charming tale for any reader.
I really enjoyed reading this story. The repetition of the phrase "Not I" from the lazy animals reinforced the lesson that they learned: hard work can pay off later. The more work they put off, the more the animals missed out on later. This fable provides that valuable lesson to young readers, as well as a story worth rereading and retelling again. I give the story 4 out of 5 stars. I leave out the final star because the use of the word "and" is excessive and incorrect; it may give a young reader a wrong impression of how to use the word "and" correctly. That aside, "The Little Red Hen" is a very charming tale for any reader.
February 3, 2019
The Little Red Hen is a great children's book. I enjoyed the plot line and I thought the story was great at showing what a folk tale is. This book was written and the illustrated by Paul Galdone. I would give this book a five star rating. The story line is distinctive and original. In this children's book the illustrations are good and go along with the story perfect.
There are somewhat of a variety of points that go along with being a folk tale. I would use this genre in my classroom at some point. One way I would try to use the genre is by doing some lesson on folk tales of something that has been passed down to each student from generations ago. I would encourage my students to bring in folk tale books from home to share with the class.
Some elements of what this book gave away that tells the audience that it is a folk tale is that it you can tell the story was made up to teach a moral and a lesson of how to help with work. In folk tales, the main character usually goes through something to solve a problem. The little red hen showed solving a problem because of all the hard work the little red hen did he/she got to eat a cake and after the other characters watched the little red hen eat all the cake they wanted to start helping. Usually in a folk tale there are good and bad characters which I would say the little red hen is good and the cat, dog, and mouse are bad. You can tell in the end that the good character was rewarded and the evil is punished.
There are somewhat of a variety of points that go along with being a folk tale. I would use this genre in my classroom at some point. One way I would try to use the genre is by doing some lesson on folk tales of something that has been passed down to each student from generations ago. I would encourage my students to bring in folk tale books from home to share with the class.
Some elements of what this book gave away that tells the audience that it is a folk tale is that it you can tell the story was made up to teach a moral and a lesson of how to help with work. In folk tales, the main character usually goes through something to solve a problem. The little red hen showed solving a problem because of all the hard work the little red hen did he/she got to eat a cake and after the other characters watched the little red hen eat all the cake they wanted to start helping. Usually in a folk tale there are good and bad characters which I would say the little red hen is good and the cat, dog, and mouse are bad. You can tell in the end that the good character was rewarded and the evil is punished.
November 9, 2014
The old folktale “The Little Red Hen” serves at as a great teaching tool. It is about an ambitious little, red hen who wants to grow wheat and asks her friends to help her. “Not I,” said the cat. “Not I,” said the dog. “Not I,” said the mouse. The hen continues to do chores and ask for help. Her friends give her the same response: “Not I.” Finally, it is time to bake the bread from which she grew the wheat and milled the flour. Her friends still do not wish to help. Now it is time to eat and enjoy the bread and wouldn’t you know, her friends do wish to help. The little red hen replies, “no, no I will do that.” And she did.
You could spin this book in a couple of directions. One would be a theme of teamwork. This story could be used in any younger elementary classrooms. The class could discuss why we need to help each other or clean up our mess. The class could also discuss how the hen could of handled it differently.
If you are teaching 2nd or 3rd graders, this book would be a great introduction for a food unit. Food does not show up magically on the shelves at the grocery store. It is a process. The book illustrates that process. You could spin the book in completely different directions and get different meanings or mini-lessons out of it.
You could spin this book in a couple of directions. One would be a theme of teamwork. This story could be used in any younger elementary classrooms. The class could discuss why we need to help each other or clean up our mess. The class could also discuss how the hen could of handled it differently.
If you are teaching 2nd or 3rd graders, this book would be a great introduction for a food unit. Food does not show up magically on the shelves at the grocery store. It is a process. The book illustrates that process. You could spin the book in completely different directions and get different meanings or mini-lessons out of it.
February 28, 2014
I love this book! The little red hen does all the work while the lazy animals just want to sleep. This book is great to teach children that is always better to help out. There is a great moral to this stort and I know your children will love it!
Paul Galdone:
In his mid-40s that he illustrated his first children's book.From 1951 until his death in 1986 at age 79, he illustrated and/or wrote more than 300 children's books. Paul Galdone may be best remembered for his versions of traditional folk tales aimed at the picture-book crowd. He loved to include small details that displayed his impish sense of humor — and assumed that young readers also would want to spend time looking for these special touches. For example, the Little Wee Bear in "The Three Bears" carries a teddy bear, adding a fourth bear "to allow the third bear (and readers) to feel a little less small.
Paul Galdone:
In his mid-40s that he illustrated his first children's book.From 1951 until his death in 1986 at age 79, he illustrated and/or wrote more than 300 children's books. Paul Galdone may be best remembered for his versions of traditional folk tales aimed at the picture-book crowd. He loved to include small details that displayed his impish sense of humor — and assumed that young readers also would want to spend time looking for these special touches. For example, the Little Wee Bear in "The Three Bears" carries a teddy bear, adding a fourth bear "to allow the third bear (and readers) to feel a little less small.
September 24, 2015
This book is great for early readers or young listeners because many of the phrases are repeated time after time again, developing phonemic awareness. The Little Red Hen is a hard-working character who finds seeds, plants them, mends the garden, cuts the wheat, takes the wheat to mill to be turned to flour, and then bakes a cake and enjoys it all to herself. Throughout the tale, the Hen asks for help but her housemates (Cat, Dog, & Mouse) are too lazy too attend. The best thing about this book is that it can be interdisciplinary - used in mathematics to create word problems, physical education to evoke movement, and more.
February 10, 2010
This story is about a little red hen who lives with a dog, cat, and mouse who are extremely lazy and do absolutly nothing to help out hen around the house. Hen is treated like Cinderella. Throughout the story hen is preparing to make and bake a cake. when the cake is finally done suddenly dog, cat, and mouse want to eat it, even though didn't help. Hen said "since i made it by myself, then I'm gonna eat it all by myself." The others did not get one bite. In conclusion, Hen always had eager helpers to help her from then on out!
February 14, 2017
The Little Red Hen will have you wanting to complete your to-do list by the end! The Little Red Hen is the hardest worker in the house. She is always doing chores and always looking for help! Would you volunteer to give up your relaxation time to help the Little Red Hen or would you stay laying on the couch watching the work be done for you? This book will teach one that you always reap what you sow! Enjoy!
August 5, 2024
While the way I remember it the little red hen baked bread, the cake in this version works too. More great quality reprints in affordable hardcover from Paul Galdone.
4/6/2021 We read this one aloud today, or rather my Rascal (6) read it to all of us after I read the abridged version in What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know. I like the Mouse better than the pig included as Galdone puts it.
4/6/2021 We read this one aloud today, or rather my Rascal (6) read it to all of us after I read the abridged version in What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know. I like the Mouse better than the pig included as Galdone puts it.
October 29, 2015
This stay at home mom loves this classic children's story about a mama hen that always does all the work by herself and finally decides to reap all the reward by herself, too. This is a great story for children who naturally take advantage of their parents. Being appreciative and helpful are values that are not always natural and must be taught.
June 12, 2010
The Little Red Hen is badass. I love the message: don't feed slacker friends who don't do their share.I am suprised the Tea Party hasn't adopted this book as a "must read" for children. Hmm...
November 6, 2016
This is a book we have read over and over. Ellie can now read it by herself!....6/28/15
Jacob read for November Pizza Hut Reading Challenge..krb 11/6/16 He rated this 3 stars
Jacob read for November Pizza Hut Reading Challenge..krb 11/6/16 He rated this 3 stars
September 12, 2016
I read this for my little girl. She loves it because I do voices for each animal. I love this little book because it teaches something good about helping and sharing.
April 19, 2019
Re-read this because it was my favorite book as a child. This book is still fire! :)
May 14, 2021
The Little Red Hen is a wonderful story of a hen who wanted to make a cake. She asked the other animals to help her with some of the steps, and nobody was willing to help. The hen ends up making this wonderful cake all by herself. The cake looks so delicious that all the other animals want some, but the hen decided that since they did not help her make the cake and she did all of the hard work, they could not have any of the cake. The animals learn that in order to be a part of the rewards, they must help to create them.
I love using this book to talk about teamwork, friendship, and classroom community throughout the year within my first grade classroom. This story would be perfect for PK-3rd grade classrooms and can be used to look closely at details in the illustrations, perspective, and sequencing. The colorful pictures and unexpected ending will keep children on their toes as they listen and read.
I found this book on Goodreads' shelf of traditional literature.
I love using this book to talk about teamwork, friendship, and classroom community throughout the year within my first grade classroom. This story would be perfect for PK-3rd grade classrooms and can be used to look closely at details in the illustrations, perspective, and sequencing. The colorful pictures and unexpected ending will keep children on their toes as they listen and read.
I found this book on Goodreads' shelf of traditional literature.
March 5, 2019
3.5*
September 25, 2025
The classic story about working for your food.
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December 2, 2019The Little Red Hen is a fable that teaches young children the value of hard work and teamwork. Once upon a time there was a little red hen who lived on a farm. She lived with a lazy dog, a sleepy cat and a little mouse. The red hen worked hard every day doing her farmhouse chores while her friends laid lazily around. One day she finds a wheat seed and wants to plant it but no one will help her so she does it herself. As the wheat is growing, she asks her friends to help her take care of it, but they do not and she must do it herself. Once the wheat is ready to be harvested, she asks her friends to help, they do not. The wheat must then be taken to the mill and ground into flour to be baked. She asks her friends to help, but they are either too tired or say they have too much to do, so yet again, she does it herself. The Little Red Hen is persistent and hard-working, which pays off for herself in the end; but does she allow her lazy friends to reap in all of her hard work? This fable is appropriate for ages K-2. Throughout the years multiple different versions of this book have been made, which allow for multiple readings to focus on comparing and contrasting the different versions. There have even been leveled readers made for young students which allow for independent reading opportunities. With its repetitive text even young students who are not reading independently can pick up on the sayings and read along with. It has been written in play form also, which allows for the opportunity to use it as a Reader’s Theater. Using the text in this way allows students to focus on fluency and different characters. You can also tie in STEM activities to integrate more sensory opportunities. With so many different learning opportunities in addition to teaching the value of hard work, when will you add “The Little Red Hen” to your read-alouds?!
November 9, 2020
This book was very likely the only book my mother read to me as a child. She loved reading this book to us. She also hated sharing bread with her own kids, making us fully aware that the only reason we had bread was because she had to work for it and that we're lucky it is the law that she has to share it with us.
Taking it in good faith, this book is to teach children the value of hard work - and that's the best lesson that can be learned here. However, there is a lot of unconscious messaging at play here as well. What I was taught was that self-reliance is optimal, even noble, and that if your friends don't have bread, it's because they are lazy, undeserving, and it's their fault for not making it themselves. Why should you give your friends bread? You worked hard for it so it's yours.
This book is divorced from compassion and comradery. Your friends are not lazy, nor are they undeserving of food. It's also divorced from reality - in that today's first world it is impossible to make bread completely on your own. The self-reliance in this story is a farce. It gives a dog-eat-dog message and teaches kids to fend for themselves. This book is a perfect propaganda piece for children to illustrate the current systems we live under.
Taking it in good faith, this book is to teach children the value of hard work - and that's the best lesson that can be learned here. However, there is a lot of unconscious messaging at play here as well. What I was taught was that self-reliance is optimal, even noble, and that if your friends don't have bread, it's because they are lazy, undeserving, and it's their fault for not making it themselves. Why should you give your friends bread? You worked hard for it so it's yours.
This book is divorced from compassion and comradery. Your friends are not lazy, nor are they undeserving of food. It's also divorced from reality - in that today's first world it is impossible to make bread completely on your own. The self-reliance in this story is a farce. It gives a dog-eat-dog message and teaches kids to fend for themselves. This book is a perfect propaganda piece for children to illustrate the current systems we live under.
December 7, 2017
This tales is a fable, with a great lesson in helping to benefit everyone.
The Little Red Hen lives with a Dog, a Cat, and a Mouse. None of them are willing to do anything, other than sleep, doze, and nap. The Little Red Hen does all of the cooking, and cleaning around the house. Then she finds some wheat. She asks the three if they will help sow the wheat, each says, "not I". Then Little Red Hen says, "then I will". Through each stage she asks, if they will help tend the garden, harvest the wheat, send the grain to the miller, or help bake the cake from the flour. Every time, each says, "not I", leaving Little Red Hen to do it.
Then as the cake comes out of the oven, each of them awake. Little Red Hen asks, "who wants to eat the cake"; each says, "I do." Then the Little Red Hen tells them all how she is the one that sowed, tended, harvested, milled, then carried the flour, gathered the wood for the stove, mixed the batter, and "all by myself, I am going to eat it" to the very last crumb. After that Little Red Hen had three very eager helpers.
The Little Red Hen lives with a Dog, a Cat, and a Mouse. None of them are willing to do anything, other than sleep, doze, and nap. The Little Red Hen does all of the cooking, and cleaning around the house. Then she finds some wheat. She asks the three if they will help sow the wheat, each says, "not I". Then Little Red Hen says, "then I will". Through each stage she asks, if they will help tend the garden, harvest the wheat, send the grain to the miller, or help bake the cake from the flour. Every time, each says, "not I", leaving Little Red Hen to do it.
Then as the cake comes out of the oven, each of them awake. Little Red Hen asks, "who wants to eat the cake"; each says, "I do." Then the Little Red Hen tells them all how she is the one that sowed, tended, harvested, milled, then carried the flour, gathered the wood for the stove, mixed the batter, and "all by myself, I am going to eat it" to the very last crumb. After that Little Red Hen had three very eager helpers.
December 22, 2018
The Little Red Hen
Genre: Traditional Literature
Book Level: 2.9
In this classic tale Little Red Hen goes through all the hard work of cleaning the house, tending the garden, and baking the cake, each time asking the other animals that lived in the house if they would help but instead they decided to laze around and nap all day. After all of Little Red Hens work was done and the delicious smelling cake was ready to eat the other animals join her for a tasty treat but Little Red reminds them they did not contribute to any of the days work so she decides to enjoy the cake all by herself. After that the other animals learned their lesson and when there was work to be done they were there to help.
Mentor text: Ideas – the story has a clear purpose to teach kids that the work that you put into something is what you get out.
Classroom integration: This would be a good book to discuss teamwork, have a sequence lesson on what you need to bake a cake and then celebrate with a cupcake day.
Genre: Traditional Literature
Book Level: 2.9
In this classic tale Little Red Hen goes through all the hard work of cleaning the house, tending the garden, and baking the cake, each time asking the other animals that lived in the house if they would help but instead they decided to laze around and nap all day. After all of Little Red Hens work was done and the delicious smelling cake was ready to eat the other animals join her for a tasty treat but Little Red reminds them they did not contribute to any of the days work so she decides to enjoy the cake all by herself. After that the other animals learned their lesson and when there was work to be done they were there to help.
Mentor text: Ideas – the story has a clear purpose to teach kids that the work that you put into something is what you get out.
Classroom integration: This would be a good book to discuss teamwork, have a sequence lesson on what you need to bake a cake and then celebrate with a cupcake day.
April 4, 2019
After finding some grain in the garden, the little red hen decides she wants to make a cake with it, but first she must grow it, cut it, and the grind it into flower. Each step of the process, she asks the dog, the mouse, and the cat if they will help but they all say no. After ding all the work to make the cake, the dog, mouse, and cat all smell it and want some of the delicious cake, but since the little red hen did all the work for it, she ate the whole thing. After that, the dog, mouse, and cat helped the little red hen with everything around the house. The theme of this tale is you reap what you sow. The little red hen reap good because she did good work, but the other animals did not. The illustrations in this book are simple and old time looking. Like many folklore books, this book repeats a lot of the same lines which is good for young readers for memorization purpose and good practice for reading. This is one of my all time favorite folklore stories.
October 22, 2019
Genre: Traditional Literature
Awards: none
Audience: 3-10 year olds
A. The main characters are not throughly described. The story introduces them as the red hen, a cat, a dog, and a mouse. The Cat, dog, and mouse are pictured as lazy throughout the story while the red hen is a hard worker.
B. I have heard this story told in other very similar ways. The story line is always the same though. There is always a red hen that lives with other animals. The red hen does all the work around the house. She asks for help but does not receive any from the other animals. The hen makes a cake and everyone wants some but she eats it all because she was the only one who helped make it.
C. I would read this story to a group of children because it is a story they can participate in. The moral in the story is easily understood so it would be good to talk about it in a group.
D. Why did the red hen eat all of the cake and not share any of it? She ate the whole cake because nobody helped her make it.
Awards: none
Audience: 3-10 year olds
A. The main characters are not throughly described. The story introduces them as the red hen, a cat, a dog, and a mouse. The Cat, dog, and mouse are pictured as lazy throughout the story while the red hen is a hard worker.
B. I have heard this story told in other very similar ways. The story line is always the same though. There is always a red hen that lives with other animals. The red hen does all the work around the house. She asks for help but does not receive any from the other animals. The hen makes a cake and everyone wants some but she eats it all because she was the only one who helped make it.
C. I would read this story to a group of children because it is a story they can participate in. The moral in the story is easily understood so it would be good to talk about it in a group.
D. Why did the red hen eat all of the cake and not share any of it? She ate the whole cake because nobody helped her make it.
April 20, 2020
A dog, cat, hen, and mouse all lived together. The little red hen did everything around the hose for the roommates, as they slept. This story is believable because the hen acts as the parents in the hosuehold, while the cat, dog, and mouse act as the children of the house. As we see the red hen asking for help throughout the story, and ends up doing everything for herself, we end up feel bad for her!The clear conflict is between the hen and the cat, dog, and mouse because she does everything around the house. I enjoyed the ending because the hen stood up for herself, and the others shaped up and learned that they should help her around the house.
A good teaching lesson from this book would be to allow your students to discuss how they help out either around the house and or the classroom. After reading this book, you can then reopen the conversation, and help them realizes that helping out is kind, curious, and more effective.
A good teaching lesson from this book would be to allow your students to discuss how they help out either around the house and or the classroom. After reading this book, you can then reopen the conversation, and help them realizes that helping out is kind, curious, and more effective.
April 28, 2020
This a picture book retelling is the folktale “The Little Red Hen.”
In this version of the story, the Little Red Hen lives with the mouse, the cat, and the dog who laze about all day, leaving her to do the entirety of the housework and yardwork. The Little Red Hen toils away, cooking, cleaning, mending, and gardening, while her housemates contribute nothing to the household.
When the Little Red Hen finds some grains of wheat, she plants, tends, harvests, takes up the mill, and bakes into a cake all by herself. Throughout this process, she repeatedly asks the cat, the dog, and the mouse to help her, but they always refuse. Then when it’s time to eat the cake, the Little Red Hen announces that she will eat it all by herself, and she does.
The story has the straight forward moral that one must share in the work if one wants to share in the reward, and this retelling adds a coda, showing that the others learned their lesson and now help with the housework.
In this version of the story, the Little Red Hen lives with the mouse, the cat, and the dog who laze about all day, leaving her to do the entirety of the housework and yardwork. The Little Red Hen toils away, cooking, cleaning, mending, and gardening, while her housemates contribute nothing to the household.
When the Little Red Hen finds some grains of wheat, she plants, tends, harvests, takes up the mill, and bakes into a cake all by herself. Throughout this process, she repeatedly asks the cat, the dog, and the mouse to help her, but they always refuse. Then when it’s time to eat the cake, the Little Red Hen announces that she will eat it all by herself, and she does.
The story has the straight forward moral that one must share in the work if one wants to share in the reward, and this retelling adds a coda, showing that the others learned their lesson and now help with the housework.
September 23, 2020
This is a wonderful folktale with the moral “ You reap what you sow.” The little red hen works all day long doing all of the chores in the house. But, the cat, the dog, and the mouse just relax all day. Never wanting to help. Little hen finds some wheat seeds one day while working in the garden and decides to plant them. When the wheat has grown she begins the long process of making a cake and she does it without any help from the others. The smell of the warm cake coming out of the oven attracts the attention of the dog, the cat, and the mouse. They want to eat a piece of the cake, but little hen says no. She is going to eat it all by herself. The illustrations show true to life facial expressions of all the characters as they learn this important life lesson of working hard for something. Never again did the little red hen have to ask for help doing any chores. This is an adorable book to help explain a deep moral to young children in an understanding way.
March 3, 2017
A dog, a cat, a mouse, and a little red hen all live together. No one else will help her plant wheat, cut the wheat, transfer it to the mill, and bake a cake from it's flour. However, they are all very eager to eat the cake. The hen eats it (because she earned it), and from then on the other three are great helpers.
This is an excellent book that teaches an incredibly valuable lesson about the helping others. Sometimes it may be hard to see the reward at the time, nut it will get to us in the long run. Even if it doesn't, though, we need to be grateful anyways. I like that these four cute little animals are all in one house. Finally, I respect how much the hen is committed to her love/ need for cake.
This story is good for kids of all ages; it teaches them the value in helping others and being a good worker.
This is an excellent book that teaches an incredibly valuable lesson about the helping others. Sometimes it may be hard to see the reward at the time, nut it will get to us in the long run. Even if it doesn't, though, we need to be grateful anyways. I like that these four cute little animals are all in one house. Finally, I respect how much the hen is committed to her love/ need for cake.
This story is good for kids of all ages; it teaches them the value in helping others and being a good worker.
September 25, 2019
The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone (Pattern/Prerdictable)
This book is a classic. Although there are many versions of the story, this specific one by Paul Galdone uses amazing illustrations. All of the expressions on the animals faces throughout the book are very detailed to show the emotion that they are feeling. The story is about a Red Hen who lives in a house with a dog, cat, and a mouse, and they are VERY lazy and do not help with any chores around the house, except for at the end of the story when the other animals smell a delicious cake that the Red Hen baked. Then, that is a chore they decide they want to help with. I would recommend this book to a variety of ages due to it being a folktale.
This book is a classic. Although there are many versions of the story, this specific one by Paul Galdone uses amazing illustrations. All of the expressions on the animals faces throughout the book are very detailed to show the emotion that they are feeling. The story is about a Red Hen who lives in a house with a dog, cat, and a mouse, and they are VERY lazy and do not help with any chores around the house, except for at the end of the story when the other animals smell a delicious cake that the Red Hen baked. Then, that is a chore they decide they want to help with. I would recommend this book to a variety of ages due to it being a folktale.
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