The Little Red Hen

by Byron Barton

A little red hen grows grain, threshes wheat, bakes bread, and feeds her chicks—all by herself, without any help from her lazy friends. Young readers will laugh and learn a valuable lesson about teamwork from this classic tale! This oversize edition (18 x 18") is prefect for sharing in a library or classroom.

Byron Barton's simple words, bold images, and imaginative use of color have made his many picture books perennial favorites with young children. This retelling of the well-loved folktale "The Little Red Hen" continues to draw in preschoolers with its humor and bright primary colors.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Fairy Tales, Food, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 1993

About the author

Byron Barton is the author and illustrator of many picture books for young children. He has been honored by ALA, SLJ, and Reading Rainbow. He worked as an animator for CBS before he started creating children's books. He is currently making his illustrations completely on the computer.

Reviews

[April]

You know, I don't know what I think of the Little Red Hen! There are going to be times in life where you have to do the entire group project. Your friends are going to flake on you. You'll work harder than others sometimes. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be a gracious and generous person. If I was a jerk every time I had a proverbial loaf of bread, I'd have no friends. And neither does Little Red Hen.

There is a difference between teaching your children to be a hard worker and whatever this folk tale is trying to teach.

[Erika L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

At today's Toddler Storytime, we talked a lot about manners! This is a classic, simple story, and one that I would do again. I love all the colorful shapes found throughout this book! The kids and I talked about the different shapes and colors while going through the story.

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful read from my childhood, one I’d certainly suggest for other youngsters. Whilst it is not my all-time favourite childhood read I can still recall all the details of this one meaning it certainly left a lasting impression upon my young mind.

And isn’t that what we want with children’s books, for them to leave a positive lasting impression?

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Galdone's version better, but this has a shorter text and bright pictures for a toddler storytime. Plus, my branch has it in a big book format which works well with large groups. 5/22/12

Used this for a garden story time since I had 2 day cares show for preschool story time.

[Annissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright: 1993
Number of Pages: unnumbered
Book Format: hardcover
Reading Level: grades preK-5, GR level: N/A
Genre: Fiction
Lit Requirement: predictable book

Summary:
A little red hen has three friends, a pig, a duck, and a cat. The hen has three baby chicks. When the hen needs help planting and growing wheat, and asks her friends for help, none of them are willing to help. At the end of the book, the hen makes bread from the wheat he grew all by himself. Read the book to see what happens next.

Review:
This book had a great predictable story line that teaches about selfishness as well as helping others. Little kids would learn to help and be kind to others in order for them to be kind and share in return. I enjoyed reading this book because it has a great ending as well as colorful picturs that caught my eye. Overall this was a great book for early readers.

[Michelle Turnure · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter is a huge fan of Byron Barton's books. This is another one that she loves, always reaches for and pages through on her own. The illustrations are big, simple and captivating to my one-year old. The story follows a hen and her chicks as they grow wheat (without the help of their other farm friends) and eventually make bread. The dialogue is short and perfect to hold her attention if I am reading it out loud to her.

[Magaly Almario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about team work and personal initiative. The "Hen" does not stop pursuing her goal to make bread even if it means doing it all alone. I loved the story of empowerment written in simple words children can understand. Colorful illustrations and the size of the book makes for a great read aloud for a classroom.

[Cheryl A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straightforward telling of the story, but maybe a bit long for a board book audience. I liked that it wasn't abridged, though, as thus we get to see more of the bright cheerful cut paper(?) illustrations of Barton... so fun! (Even if the hen's legs are fat... maybe she's wearing gaiters or something....)

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid easy-to-readaloud version of this tale.

It did leave me wondering what the three chicks were doing: offering moral support to the little red hen? They didn't look like they were helping much, and yet got to partake in the delicious bread. Perhaps an early lesson on how some things just aren't fair.

[Elena Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to my Pre-k class today. The kids loved it! By the end they were all hollering how hen has bad friends. I asked them if hen was wrong by saying no to her friends when it came time to eat the bread and they said no. They said the friends got what they deserved 😳😂😂 Great lesson on teamwork, hard work, and emotional awareness

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A timeless tale of hard work and reward. I truly have met adults that must have never had this story read to them when they were little; it seems to me (more and more) that there are so many people who don't understand working for something that you want. There is a lesson here for so many in corporations - good workers are truly hard to find!

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright, simple and charming illustrations. Barton's language is perfect for young crowds. It is as basic as it can be, is repetitive, and yet flows well. This version involves the red hen and her three chicks, a duck, a cat and a pig making and, of course, not making bread.

[Isadora Guercovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eu não tenho lembranças dessa história de quando eu era pequena, mas achei interessante. Lindas as ilustrações de Byron, as cores e formas, junto com o texto simples, fazem o livro ser perfeito pra ler com crianças pequenas.

[Kelly Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic story - little red hen finds some seeds and plants them... all the way to making bread. Friends don't help but still want bread. Simple animal pictures- hen, chicks, pig, duck, cat. Would be great for barnyard animal theme. Excellent for toddler or shorter KR storytime book.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The very traditional story in which those who don't work, don't eat.

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

solid version of the classic story

[Misslulu 03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très bon livre pour les petits qui parle parle de l'entre aide et de partage. A lire jusqu'à 6ans.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute. I love her sassy reply at the end. "Oh no...WE will eat the bread." Darn right, momma hen.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic story with very colorful illustrations.

[Julia Crainshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Traditional retelling, bright pictures, just the right amount of text for preschoolers' attention span.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The classic story, but shortened a bit for very young readers

[Jayan]

onnumae puriyalai , eppadi padikarathu ennga

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it because Peter loves it. Makes my heart happy to catch him reading.

[Wendy Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brightly colored illustrations, repetitive text, opportunity to use different voices. However, may be a bit long for toddlers and the "moral" feels a bit heavy-handed.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like Flutterby, I loved the art in this one. Don't know if I still agree with the message it had.

[Kari Schooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Read Aloud! Valuable lesson about putting in work to get a reward.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oliver did such a good job reading this book tonight! The repetitive text makes it a great choice for young readers.

[TJE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential fable for kids. Decent version, nice for schools because it has a play at the end to put on. Tea was interested but not a favorite

[Maliyah Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good read. The book was full of vivid images to gain the attention of the reader. There was also a valuable lesson about teamwork displayed as well.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picturebook is another example of traditional literature. There are many interpretations of this story, and I thought this one was explained the best. It is a young reader book. The main characters are a hen, chicks, pig, cat, and a duck. The hen finds wheat seeds and wants to make it into bread. The hen and her chicks make the bread with no help from the others. This story teaches kids that if you do not help, then you do not always get what you want.

The art in this book is very cute and fun to look at. It almost looks like paper cut outs. The pages alternate between pink, purple, and green. The text describes the illustrations. I really love how they repeat colors for the pages, but the last few pages are black and yellow. It shows that the story is changing. The text is easy to read, and there were no boarders in this book.