Reviewed October 29, 2002.
A Sonderbooks' Best Book of 2002 (#3, New Picture Books)
HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2001.  32 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (E WAR)

Hungry Hen is my favorite of the library’s latest batch of picture books.  I think it’s wonderfully funny, though my 8-year-old said it was “gruesome.”

The story is simple.  A fox is keeping his eye on a hungry hen.  The hen keeps eating, growing bigger and bigger.  The fox decides to wait and let her fatten up.  He gets thinner as he waits.

Finally, he can stand it no longer.  He goes to gobble up the hen. 

Let’s just say that he doesn’t win.

This story is written in beautifully simple language.  It would be perfect for a Story Time for very young children.  Two- and three-year-olds don’t have a lot of power, and I think they would enjoy this story where a simple hen gets the better of a hungry fox.

The illustrations in this book are simple and beautiful.  The illustrator used handmade paper cut-outs, and it gives a rich texture to the pictures.

Lots of fun!

Copyright © 2003 Sondra Eklund.  All rights reserved.

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