Title: Pinkney, Jerry. The Little Red Hen. New York: Penguin Group, c2006. (n.b. there are many other versions of the story I consulted; this one is listed for convenience and because it has beautiful illustrations.)
Summary: A hard-working little red hen finds some wheat seeds. She asks her animal neighbors for help in planting, but each one refuses in turn, saying “Not I.” When the wheat ripens, she asks for help in cutting it down, but again the animals decline. When she needs help threshing the wheat, her neighbor animals again say no. When the wheat needs to be taken to the mill to be ground into flour, the animals still refuse to help. When it’s time to make the flour into bread and the hen asks for help, the animals again chorus “Not I”. But, when the bread is baked, fragrant and golden, and the Little Red Hen asks who will eat it, all the animals eagerly chime in “I will!” Finally, the Little Red Hen puts her foot (claw?) down, and eats the bread all by herself as a reward for all her hard work.
Cultural origins and how identified: This is somewhat problematic. Pinkney's version says the tale is English (from the book's colophon). Another version by Florence White Williams states that the tale is of English origin. An article in Wikipedia claims the story is of Russian origin, but offers no evidence to back this up.
Audience: I would tell this story to anyone from preschoolers on up. I practiced on some 60 and 70 year olds and they loved it. Any setting would be appropriate; library, classroom or performance space.
Notes on adaptation for telling: Even though I love the original “Not I” response from the animals, I think it needs updating for contemporary audiences. So I will let each animal respond in its own way, according to its personality. I think this story could have been a great Looney Tunes cartoon and I’m hoping to channel some of that anarchic humor into my telling.
Cultural origins and how identified: This is somewhat problematic. Pinkney's version says the tale is English (from the book's colophon). Another version by Florence White Williams states that the tale is of English origin. An article in Wikipedia claims the story is of Russian origin, but offers no evidence to back this up.
Audience: I would tell this story to anyone from preschoolers on up. I practiced on some 60 and 70 year olds and they loved it. Any setting would be appropriate; library, classroom or performance space.
Notes on adaptation for telling: Even though I love the original “Not I” response from the animals, I think it needs updating for contemporary audiences. So I will let each animal respond in its own way, according to its personality. I think this story could have been a great Looney Tunes cartoon and I’m hoping to channel some of that anarchic humor into my telling.
Note on cover image: This image does not come from the Pinkney book. I found it through Google images at http://www.itheatre.org/Redhen08.html I chose it for its cartoonish quality.
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