A Hen, A Chick, And A String Guitar

by Margaret Read MacDonald

New edition of a Barefoot best-seller, now with free full-length audio CD. First recorded in Russia in the 19th Century by Aleksei Tolstoy, "The Gigantic Turnip" has all the ingredients of a truly hilarious folk tale for children and adults alike. Watch out for the special surprise at the end! Artist Niamh Sharkey was awarded the 1999 BFC Mother Goose Award for her original edition of "The Gigantic Turnip", along with "Tales of Wisdom and Wonder".

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2006

About the author

Follow
Biography
Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald travels the world telling stories....always on the lookout for more great folktales to share. She shapes these found stories into tellable tales which anyone can share with ease. Filling her folktale collections with these delightful tales, she creates perfect read alouds for you and your family. MRM wants everyone to experience the joy of a beautifully told tale. She hopes you will read them a few times...then put down the book...put down the electronic device...and just TELL the story to your children!

Some of her favorite folktales she expands into picture books...hopefully with delightfully readable language while will roll right out of your mouth. Share them with your children and then....act the tales out! Revisit the tales by TELLING them! At bedtime. While on the road. Fill your pockets with great stories to share wherever you go.

Joining her Folklore Ph.D. with her 30 plus years as a children's librarian, Margaret brings folktales to life in playful, lilting language which should delight both reader and listener.

See her performance schedule at: www.margaretreadmaconald.com

Reviews

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We checked this book out from the library and it came with a CD. The CD made it awesome! The entire book was sung and it was such a fun catchy tune. Great repetitive book that teaches proper names of babies for 8 different animals, sounds made by each, and counts in 2's to 16. Also, I saw you at the end of the book that you can download the guitar music for the book to play it yourself for free online. So for all you guitar players out there, definitely get the book and learn this great song.

I'm sure my son would have enjoyed this book at age 1 or 2. He's almost 4 and still loved it. There aren't very many words on each page, and the repetitive nature of the words makes it a nice early reader choice.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy sings and dances with his animals who have children. like you learn about the names of baby animals. toddler and up

[SL · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm hovering between 2 and 3 stars but to round it up, I'll leave it at 3.

[Joan]

our copy has missing CD, didn't get a chance to read; one other copy in system

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

We frequently borrow this from our library, and the kids love it. Hey, I love it too! We listen to the accompanying CD as we drive around town.

The song is very catchy and fun. Plus, this one song/book teaches so many concepts: teaching by 2s, animal sounds, animal names (mother and baby), family members, gift-giving/generosity, and music appreciation to name a few! I highly recommend this book with the CD!

[Salsabrarian]

Cumulative tale of a boy who receives pets from each of his relatives. Each pet provides him with offspring: the hen has a chick, the duck a duckling, the dog a puppy, and so on until he has 16 pets and a guitar to play music so they can all dance. Accompanying CD has the song. Inspired by a story from Chilean folklore.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the same thing as the new one - Farmyard Jamboree - same illustrations and singer. I wonder if it has a new title because it's a different publisher? But it is catchy!