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Henrietta and the Golden Eggs
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From: briggs at tweedledee.sr.unh.edu <briggs>
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 09:01:17 -0500 (EST)
I comment not on the war but on Henrietta and the Golden Eggs, a Mildred L. Batchelder honor book by Hanna Johansen.
This is a story about a young hen who has dreams. Henrietta is going to learn to sing; she is going to learn to swim; she is going to learn to fly; she is going to lay golden eggs. Her dreams are not encouraged by the thousands of other hens in the hen house. In fact, there is nothing encouraging about the environment in which she lives. The descriptions of the dusty air, the filth and the crowding in the hen house are enough to make a reader squirm.
But Henrietta is undaunted. Because she is small, and determined, she is able to peck a hole in the hen house big enough for her to escape. She enjoys the clean and the blue and the green outside the grey, dusty hen house. She pecks a bigger whole so that even the big chickens can get out. Three times this happens. Then the farm workers convince the farm owner to build an outside pen and all the chickens live better thanks to the determination of Henrietta.
Not all dreams can be realized. Henrietta abandons the idea of laying golden eggs. She may even (purposely?) have thrown this idea into the mix to keep her house mates from following her endeavors too closely. Nothing kills a dream like having someone ask every few minutes, "How's it going?"
In any case, the message to follow your dreams is a good one. The black and white illustrations by Kathi Bhend are delightful in their portrayals of the horror of the hen house, the confusion fresh ideas and their bearer bring, the beauty and excitement of escape, the frantic motion of thousands of chickens on the move.
The least believable thing, unfortunately, was that a businessman might make a change in his operation because of the action of his livestock.
Barbara
Received on Fri 21 Mar 2003 08:01:17 AM CST
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2003 09:01:17 -0500 (EST)
I comment not on the war but on Henrietta and the Golden Eggs, a Mildred L. Batchelder honor book by Hanna Johansen.
This is a story about a young hen who has dreams. Henrietta is going to learn to sing; she is going to learn to swim; she is going to learn to fly; she is going to lay golden eggs. Her dreams are not encouraged by the thousands of other hens in the hen house. In fact, there is nothing encouraging about the environment in which she lives. The descriptions of the dusty air, the filth and the crowding in the hen house are enough to make a reader squirm.
But Henrietta is undaunted. Because she is small, and determined, she is able to peck a hole in the hen house big enough for her to escape. She enjoys the clean and the blue and the green outside the grey, dusty hen house. She pecks a bigger whole so that even the big chickens can get out. Three times this happens. Then the farm workers convince the farm owner to build an outside pen and all the chickens live better thanks to the determination of Henrietta.
Not all dreams can be realized. Henrietta abandons the idea of laying golden eggs. She may even (purposely?) have thrown this idea into the mix to keep her house mates from following her endeavors too closely. Nothing kills a dream like having someone ask every few minutes, "How's it going?"
In any case, the message to follow your dreams is a good one. The black and white illustrations by Kathi Bhend are delightful in their portrayals of the horror of the hen house, the confusion fresh ideas and their bearer bring, the beauty and excitement of escape, the frantic motion of thousands of chickens on the move.
The least believable thing, unfortunately, was that a businessman might make a change in his operation because of the action of his livestock.
Barbara
Received on Fri 21 Mar 2003 08:01:17 AM CST
