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My Little Hen
A little girl helps her beloved hen raise her chick.
- GenresPicture Books
33 pages, Hardcover
First published September 12, 1973
About the author
Alice Provensen
85 books50 followersAlice Provensen collaborated with her late husband, Martin, on numerous highly acclaimed picture books, including the Caldecott Medal-winning The Glorious Flight and Nancy Willard's Newbery Medal-winning A Visit to William Blake's Inn, which was also a Caldecott Honor Book. The Provensens have been on the New York Times list of the Ten Best Illustrated Books eight times.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 27, 2025
It’s a simple story about a girl and her hen, but some simple things are just fun and sweet by nature.
Alice and Martin really make a great pair - love how Martin illustrated this one for Alice.
And I’ll add a warning! This book could make you do this 😜: watch my reel!
Ages: 2 - 5
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
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Alice and Martin really make a great pair - love how Martin illustrated this one for Alice.
And I’ll add a warning! This book could make you do this 😜: watch my reel!
Ages: 2 - 5
Content Considerations: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide Content Considerations, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
If you’re considering a book or looking for a new title to read, check out my highly categorized shelves, read my reviews and Friend or Follow me to spiff up your feed with clean, wholesome, living books.
I have an Instagram account that’s pretty bookishly unique too!
January 3, 2024
❤️
A vintage book written in the 1970s. My friend loaned it to my classroom to enjoy.
I wish I owned stacks and stacks of books like this one. There is something so cool about books written and illustrated years ago.
A vintage book written in the 1970s. My friend loaned it to my classroom to enjoy.
I wish I owned stacks and stacks of books like this one. There is something so cool about books written and illustrated years ago.
February 27, 2016
Originally posted on You Have Your Hands Full
My Little Hen was written by Alice and Martin Provensen, and it was first published in 1973.
This is the story of a little girl named Emily, who loves her hen Etta. One day, Etta lays an egg, and that egg grows into a little chick named Neddy. Emily and Etta are very protective of Neddy, but they don’t have much to be worried about because Ralph the dog is very gentle with the chickens.
The text is written in cursive calligraphy. It’s absolutely gorgeous, but my first graders can’t read this on their own. That’s fine with me because I don’t mind reading to them. The illustrations are simple, and designed to look like photographs, so reading the book is just like going through a photo album. The reader gets to see Neddy go from just an egg to a fluffy chick to a full grown… well, some things should be a surprise, shouldn’t they?
I would recommend My Little Hen. It’s short enough for toddlers, but it will also appeal to preschoolers and children in the early years of elementary school. There’s not much of a plot per se, but this is just a sweet and simple story about a girl and her chicken. This book has been out of print for years, but used copies are readily available on Amazon.
My Little Hen was written by Alice and Martin Provensen, and it was first published in 1973.
This is the story of a little girl named Emily, who loves her hen Etta. One day, Etta lays an egg, and that egg grows into a little chick named Neddy. Emily and Etta are very protective of Neddy, but they don’t have much to be worried about because Ralph the dog is very gentle with the chickens.
The text is written in cursive calligraphy. It’s absolutely gorgeous, but my first graders can’t read this on their own. That’s fine with me because I don’t mind reading to them. The illustrations are simple, and designed to look like photographs, so reading the book is just like going through a photo album. The reader gets to see Neddy go from just an egg to a fluffy chick to a full grown… well, some things should be a surprise, shouldn’t they?
I would recommend My Little Hen. It’s short enough for toddlers, but it will also appeal to preschoolers and children in the early years of elementary school. There’s not much of a plot per se, but this is just a sweet and simple story about a girl and her chicken. This book has been out of print for years, but used copies are readily available on Amazon.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews