Chickens Storytime

 

 

Books

 

 

 

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Fancy that! by Pamela Allen. 
Orchard Books, 1988, c1987. 
Little Red Hen hatches her chicks to accompanying barnyard noises.

Cock-a-Moo-Moo by Juliet Dallas-Conte, illustrated by Alison Bartlett.
Little, Brown, 2001.
When rooster forgets how to crow, the other barnyard animals make fun of him, until one night he saves them all from the fox.

Mrs. Huggins and her hen Hannah by Lydia Dabcovich. 
Dutton, c1985. 
Mrs. Huggins' contented relationship with her hen Hannah comes to an unfortunate end but is reborn in an unexpected way. 

The little red hen and the ear of wheat written by Mary Finch; illustrated by Elisabeth Bell. 
Barefoot, 1999. 
A new twist on the classic tale of the hen who finds a grain of wheat and toils to bake bread, with no help from her companions.

Across the stream by Mirra Ginsburg; pictures by Nancy Tafuri. 
Greenwillow Books, c1982. 
A hen and three chicks are saved from a bad dream by a duck and three ducklings.

Good morning, chick by Mirra Ginsburg, adapted from a story by Korney Chukovsky; pictures by Byron Barton. 
Greenwillow Books, c1980. 
When he tries to imitate a rooster, a newly-hatched chick falls in a puddle.

Queenie, one of the family by Bob Graham. 
Candlewick Press, c1997. 
Caitlin and her parents rescue a hen from a lake, name her, and take her home with them, but even after they return her to the farm where she lives, her presence is still felt in Caitlin's family. 

Rosie's walk by Pat Hutchins. 
Macmillan, c1968
Although unaware that a fox is after her as she takes a walk around the farmyard, Rosie the hen still manages to lead him into one accident after another.

The wolf's chicken stew by Keiko Kasza. 
Putnam, c1987. 
A hungry wolf's attempts to fatten a chicken for his stewpot have unexpected results.

Emma's eggs by Margriet Ruurs; illustrations by Barbara Spurll. 
Stoddart, 1996. 
Emma the chicken tries to provide the family with perfect eggs by scrambling them, laying them in water dishes, or paint cans, when she sees the farmer's wife scramble them, boil them, and the children painting them for Easter.

Minerva Louise by Janet Morgan Stoeke. 
Dutton, c1988. 
A hen has fun exploring the house with the red curtains.

The chick and the duckling. Translated from the Russian of V. Suteyev, by Mirra Ginsburg. Pictures by Jose & Ariane Aruego. 
Macmillan Co. c1972 
Hatched at the same time, the chick does fine imitating the duckling until the latter goes for a swim.

Dora's eggs by Julie Sykes; pictures by Jane Chapman. 
Little Tiger Press, 1997. 
As she goes around seeing the babies of the other farmyard animals, Dora becomes less and less proud of her first eggs--until they hatch into cute chicks.

The chicken book by Garth Williams. 
Delacorte Press c1970 
Five little chicks learn that it takes more than wishing to get what they want.


MOTHER GOOSE RHYME

Cocks crow in the morn,
To tell us when to rise.
And he who lies late
Will never be wise:

For early to bed,
And early to rise,
Is the way to be healthy
And wealthy and wise.



Five Hungry Chickens  

Said the first little chicken
With a queer little squirm,
"I wish I could find
A fat little worm"
Said the next little chicken
With an odd little shrug,
"I wish I could find
A fat little slug."
Said the third little chicken,
With a sharp little squeal
"I wish I could find
Some nice yellow meal."
Said the fourth little chicken,
With a small sigh of grief,
"I wish I could find
A little green leaf."
Said the fifth little chicken,
With a faint little moan,
I wish I could find
A wee gravel stone."
"Now see here," said the mother,
From the green garden patch,
"If you want any breakfast
Just come here and scratch."

Patterns and instructions can be found in:
The flannel board storytelling book by Judy Sierra. 
Bronx, NY: H.W. Wilson Co., 1987.

 

Hens of a Different Color

This little hen is BLACK
She stands in the barnyard by a big hay stack

This little hen is RED
She is very tired and won't get out of bed.

This little hen is BROWN
She is feeling sad and wearing a frown.

This little hen is YELLOW
She's friends with the rooster; he's a handsome fellow.

This little hen is WHITE
She dances and plays; oh what a sight!

This little hen is PURPLE
She spends her day running around in circles.

This little hen is GREEN
She is the silliest hen I've ever seen.

This little hen is BLUE
She lays eggs for me and you.

This little hen is PINK
She goes down to the pond to get a drink.

All of these hens live at the farm
Out in the big RED barn.

Copy and enlarge one of the graphics from this page, then use it as a pattern for the hens in this rhyme

Simple homemade felt puppet.  Use with the following rhyme:

Naptime

"Come little chickens," calls Mother Hen Beckoning motion
"It's time to take your nap again." 
And under her feathers the small chicks creep, Fingers of right hand creep into folded left hand
And she clucks a song till they fall asleep. Move hands gently in rocking motion

 




Ten Fluffy Chickens

Five eggs and five eggs, that makes ten. Hold up two hands
Sitting on top is the Mother Hen. Fold one hand over the other
Crackle, crackle, crackle; what do I see? Clap three times
Ten fluffy chickens, as yellow as can be!  Hold up and wiggle ten fingers

 

Higgledy, Piggledy

Higgledy, piggledy, my black hen  Hold up right fist
She lays eggs for gentlemen; Left hand, fingers extended, bow them forward
Sometimes nine Left hand plus four fingers of right
And sometimes ten, Add thumb of right
Higgledy, piggledy, my black hen. Hold up right fist

 

This Little Chick

This little chick got into the barn Hold up index finger
This little chick ate all the corn Hold up middle finger
This little chick said he wasn't well Hold up ring finger
And this little chick said he'd go tell, Hold up pinky finger
But this little chick said "Peep, peep, peep! Hold up thumb and wiggle it
Please be quiet, I'm trying to sleep!" Wiggle thumb

 

Here's a little Egg

Here's a little egg, so smooth and white Sit criss-cross applesauce, head down, arms in lap
Peck, peck, peck, there's something inside! Move head slightly at each "peck"
Peck, peck, peck, here comes a little beak, Move head on each "peck," raising it a little higher each time
Peck, peck, peck, here come two little feet. Extend feet a little farther on each "peck"
Peck, peck, peck, and pick, pick, pick. Straighten body and move arms on each word, spreading them wider
And crack, crack, CRACK!  Move to squatting position
Out pops the baby chick!  Stand up, arms above head

 


Paper Puppets

Make a chicken puppet out of a paper plate.  For each puppet, draw a tail, a head, and two wings on tan or yellow paper.  Fold the paper plate in half, and slit along the fold the width of the head and also for the tail.  Insert the head at one end and staple in place.  Insert the tail at the other end, and staple in place.  Use scotch tape to fasten the wings on.  Let children hold puppets and flap the wings by moving the puppets up and down.

 

 

This page was updated on May 28, 2003
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