When I was a child, my sister absolutely loved the story of The Little Red Hen. Later in life, I would say “Not I, said the horse,” when my mother would accuse one of us of doing something. My sister would quickly respond, “Not I, said the goose!” Even years later, we still say the same thing when my mom gets angry during holidays or other family get-togethers.
You can imagine my delight when I was shopping at Wal*Mart and found The Little Red Hen right before Christmas. I bought it for a mere $1.50 and wrapped it up as a gag gift for my sister. And, yes, I tagged it “To The goose, love The Horse.”
The Story
The story of The Little Red Hen is a good one, and it is very familiar. The hen finds some wheat and asks the other farm animals who will help her pull the wheat, grind the seed, make the flour, sift the flour and make the bread. To the hen’s dismay, all of the animals respond with “Not I!” But, the hen doesn’t let that bother her and says, “Then, I will!” and does the chore herself.
When all of the hard work is done, the hen asks, “Who will help me eat this bread?” Of course, all of the animals volunteer to eat the bread. The hen points out that she had to do all of the work herself, and it wasn’t fair that the other animals should benefit from her hard work without helping. So, she eats all of the bread herself! (A well-deserved treat, I dare say.)
THE MESSAGE
Kids need to learn that they must contribute to chores in order to be rewarded. They have to learn that hard work must be done in order to receive a good result. It is important that they also learn that hard work does pay off in a great result… and it is especially good for them to enjoy if they do at least some of the work themselves.
The Little Red Hen gives a good message to all readers, and tells them (perhaps subliminally) that that should take an active part in creating something if they want to enjoy it. They also learn that it isn’t fair to put all of the work on someone else and expect to reap the rewards of what someone else has sewn. This is a lesson that is important to adults and children alike, and some adults really should keep this on their bedside table as their own bedtime story. Often times, we forget all about The Little Red Hen and become one of the other farm animals.
THE COST
As I mentioned above, this book cost me just $1.50. My sister was thrilled with it, but that is because of nostalgic reasons. However, at just $1.50, it would make a terrific gift for anyone– especially for a child. I recommend it for Kindergarten through second grade.
THE CONCLUSION
I love this book. I love this story. It is an easy read, and delivers a terrific message. Honestly, I think that I just found my latest story to adapt into a children’s play. I don’t know why I never thought of it before.
If you have never read this story, you really need to. It is a great story with a wonderful message. It is in the normal Golden Books format with terrific illustrations. It is a fun book to read aloud with any child.
