The Chicken of the Family

by Mary Amato and Delphine Durand

Henrietta doesn’t want to believe it when her two older sisters tell her she’s... read more

Henrietta doesn’t want to believe it when her two older sisters tell her she’s really a chicken. Still, she is worried. “I am not a chicken. I am not a chicken,” she chants to fall asleep that night. The next morning, however, there’s an egg in her bed and two stray feathers on the floor. Feeling like she doesn’t fit in with her family anymore, Henrietta heads off to nearby Barney’s farm. Soon she’s hopping, flapping, and strutting happily with all the hens. When her sisters try to avoid punishment by admitting it was all a joke and urging Henrietta to come home, the joke is on them. Henrietta likes being a chicken and would just as soon stay on the farm—the hens are much nicer than her sisters. “Always got room for another free-ranger,” says farmer Barney. Mary Amato’s fresh and funny take on sibling dynamics is buoyed by lively details and perfectly paired with Delphine Durand’s comical illustrations. Highly Commended, 2009 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 4–7)

© Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2009

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