Henny Penny, told and illustrated by Paul Galdone is a fable about Henny Penny who is hit on the head by an acorn and decides she must tell the king "the sky is falling!" As she sets out on her journey she meets Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey who will help her deliver her urgent message to the king.
Along the way they meet Foxy Loxy. Foxy Loxy will help them by showing them a shorter route to the king. Or will he?
The repetition of the writing makes this a great read-aloud for young children! They want Henny Penny to make it to the king even though the sky is clearly not falling! Through the illustrations we see Henny Penny's urgency and nervousness at her discovery. Once the acorn taps her head, her beak does not close. We feel her urgency and can almost hear her say "the sky is falling!" Finally, when they are lured to Foxy Loxy's cave we see in the illustrations that Henny Penny's beak is closed. Does she sense what might happen?
My favorite part of this story is how "simple" the text is, but that a great urgency is created in the reader or listener. This technique makes you root for Henny Penny against all logic!
Suggested reading level: Pre-K-1st
Keywords: acorn, chickens, foxes, kings
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