Henrietta and the Golden Eggs

Title: Henrietta and the Golden Eggs
Author: Johansen, Hanna
Illustrator: Bhend, Kathi
Translator: Barrett, John S.
Publisher: David R. Godine, 2002 (First American Publication)
Genre: traditional story, picture book
Age Range: 1-2 grade

Summary: This book is a story about the smallest hen, Henrietta, and her aspirations to lay a golden egg. The other hens in the coop discourage her from every goal she sets for herself. Although the other hens think it is a dis-advantage to be smaller, Henrietta soon learns that she can do many things the other chickens cannot do. The 3,333 chickens are soon set "free" by little Henrietta, and learn that she is smarter than they think. Did they really think a chicken could lay a golden egg?

Response: This book was very different than I was expecting. I really enjoyed getting to know Henrietta and her character. She turned out to be quite a smart little lady. This book definitely is inspiring to "the underdog." I was expecting this picture book to be like "The Little Red Hen," but it definitely wasn't. One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the illustrations. They were so much more than just pictures, Bhend captured chickens as artwork. The detail in each of the pictures made the book a joy to look at. My great-grandmother collects chickens and I actually thought about photocopying the title page and framing it for her.

Teaching Ideas: One of the biggest ways I could see this book being used in the classroom is through a unit. An animal unit, or chicken unit would be a great way to incorporate this. It would be interesting to have a whole station on chickens. Students could investigate how chickens are portrayed throughout popular culture. Some sites that could be helpful for planning this are: Chicken Little, The Little Red Hen, Chicken Run, and Love and Roast Chicken. This book would also be good to talk about the obvious, bullying and following your dreams. Students should be exposed to these topics and this book would be an easy way to do so.

Go check this book out! It really is a lot of fun! --Jeana