Traditional Literature: The Little Red Hen

Title: The Little Red Hen 

Author and Illustrator: Paul Galdone 

Genre: Traditional Literature (Fable)

Major Awards: N/A  

Age Group: 3-5 years old

The story of The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone tells the  story of a hardworking Little Red Hen. In the story, a cat, a dog, a mouse, and the Little Red Hen all live together. The Little Red Hen cooks, cleans and tends to the garden, while the cat, dog, and mouse sleep all day. One day, the Little Red Hen finds some grains of wheat and decides to plant them. He asks the cat, dog, and mouse for help and they all say "Not I", so the Little Red Hen does it all by herself. Once the wheat had grown. the Little Red Hen asked for help cutting the wheat and once again the cat, dog, and mouse said "Not I" and the Little Red had to do the work all by herself. The same thing happened when the Little Red Hen asked for help taking the wheat to the mill to make flour and when she asked for help making a cake using the flour, the Little Red Hen wound up doing all of the work. In the end when the cat, dog and mouse aren't able to partake in the Little Red Hen's hard work, they all three learn a very valuable lesson. Now whenever the Little Red Hen needs help, they were ready to lend a helping hand.

The Little Red Hen would be a good edition to a Early Childhood PreK-Kindergarten classroom.The book itself is a good size and has the predictable text of "Not I" which prompts students to chime in automatically after the first read. The Little Red Hen can also be used in the class as a character development lesson about the importance of hard work, and the students can discuss and share a time that they were helpful at school or at home.