The Little Red Hen written by Diana Muldrow in 2001 is a picture book for children ages 4 – 8 years old. The themes in the book include; growing food, friendship, hard work and selfishness. The book is about The Little Red Hen who needs help to plant her seed, to harvest her wheat and thresh her grain. However, her three lazy friends won’t help her and they soon learn that it does not pay to be selfish.
The notable linguistic features are slightly outdated and somewhat complex, however repetition is included which makes reading and listening more interesting for young children. Visually the illustrations are colourful with a lot of detail and many of them represent the story.
This book is good for learning about growing and harvesting food and provides good opportunity for exploring outdoor areas such as farms or mills. However, some problematic issues are apparent, including; a stereotype of typical woman gender roles (The Little Red Hen wears an apron, bonnet and feeds and looks after her children). Another issue is noticeable when the characters in the story partake in a poker game which introduces gambling which can be seen as unhealthy for children to learn about.
The story is interesting for all but perhaps more interesting for girls as the story portrays a typical mother figure who cooks, cleans and bakes.
This book is adaptable for learning opportunities in lessons such as science and design and technology as it includes planting seeds and baking bread. Geography could also be incorporated if bread from around the world were to be discussed.
I enjoyed the story as it showed a hard-working main character who was determined and finally received her reward, which is a good covert message for children to interpret.
The notable linguistic features are slightly outdated and somewhat complex, however repetition is included which makes reading and listening more interesting for young children. Visually the illustrations are colourful with a lot of detail and many of them represent the story.
This book is good for learning about growing and harvesting food and provides good opportunity for exploring outdoor areas such as farms or mills. However, some problematic issues are apparent, including; a stereotype of typical woman gender roles (The Little Red Hen wears an apron, bonnet and feeds and looks after her children). Another issue is noticeable when the characters in the story partake in a poker game which introduces gambling which can be seen as unhealthy for children to learn about.
The story is interesting for all but perhaps more interesting for girls as the story portrays a typical mother figure who cooks, cleans and bakes.
This book is adaptable for learning opportunities in lessons such as science and design and technology as it includes planting seeds and baking bread. Geography could also be incorporated if bread from around the world were to be discussed.
I enjoyed the story as it showed a hard-working main character who was determined and finally received her reward, which is a good covert message for children to interpret.