Mrs. Huggins and Her Hen Hannah: 2

by Lydia Dabcovich

Mrs. Huggins' contented relationship with her hen Hannah comes to an unfortunate end but is reborn in an unexpected way

Genres: Picture Books

2 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 1985

Reviews

[Meredith]

Mrs. Huggins's companion is a hen named Hannah.

A hen named Hannah is the sole companion of an elderly woman named Mrs. Huggins. The two do everything together until Hannah's health fails, and she dies. Mrs. Huggins is overcome by grief. But Hannah left an egg behind, which hatches into a chick, and Hannah's daughter becomes Mrs. Huggins's new companion.

This book took an unexpected turn. Normally, children's literature shies away from frank discussions about things like death, so I did not anticipate Hannah dying. I thought this would be a quaint story about a somewhat eccentric older lady and her pet chicken. (Hannah the chicken behaves in an anthropomorphized way.) That was rather a brutal surprise.

As an adult reader, I saw the not uncommon experience of an adult losing her sole companion -- be it pet, friend, or close relative. And I felt that incredible sorrow. This may go over the heads of younger readers due to their lack of worldly experience. But while children may view the story as 'Mrs. Huggins had a chicken. It died died, but she got a new one, so all is well.', adults will view the story differently.

[Joan]

Mrs. Huggins lives with her hen, Hannah. They do everything together.

And then one day Hannah gets sick. Mrs. Huggins nurses her day and night.

But Hannah dies.

What will happen now?

=========

This simple tale celebrates the friendship and love between Mrs. Huggins and Hannah. They do everything together: cooking, cleaning, planting the garden, caring for the farm animals. Mrs. Huggins grieves when Hannah dies until an unexpected event brings her joy once again.

Colorful illustrations depict the joys of friendship and the sorrows that accompany death. Children see that death is a reality, but it is truly part of the continuum of life. And as the story reaches a surprising denouement, the young reader is sure to be delighted with the outcome.

The target audience here is the young reader, preschool through primary grades. This is a book to be read together, a book that encourages sharing, a book that gives hope for what comes next.

Highly recommended.

[Cheryl]

I would have loved this when I was little. Appealing enough in the details of the majority of the spreads to make the theme easier to swallow. Children know about death, mostly from violent fairy tales and movies... let them have something sweet like this to prepare them for the real thing.

OpenLibrary.org

[Caitlin]

I received this book back in 1st grade in the early 90s for my birthday from my teacher and it still haunts me. Who thought giving me a book about a pet death would be smart?!

Illustrations are cute, story is easy to follow but emotionally will leave you in shreds.

[Joanne Roberts]

Typical picture book of the 1980s with darling illustration style. The author-illustrator takes a look at grief and finds a way to serve it to kids. Nostalgic historical setting adds a folk tale flavor to this simple storybook journey.

[Mellanie C]

didn't see the twist coming in this one!

[Ginny]

Cute story. I liked that the chicken took on a lot of human characteristics and helped Mrs. Huggins out. What I didn't really like was that Hannah got sick and died. Yes, it had a happy ending, but still. Not one I'll use for storytime.

[Hannah]

Every kid loves to have a book with their name in it, and this was mine. A really lovely story about friendship, and how happy beginnings sometimes come from sad endings.

[Janet]

The illustrations are fairly good, but the story line just doesn't make it. A country woman with a pet chicken ok, but the chicken takes on too many human characteristics and activities.

[Cws]

BR Dab