Big fat hen

Keith Baker, 1953-

Book - 1994

Big Fat Hen counts to ten with her friends and all her chicks.

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jE/Baker
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Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room jE/Baker Checked In
Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
San Diego : Harcourt Brace c1994.
Language
English
Main Author
Keith Baker, 1953- (-)
Physical Description
unpaged : ill
ISBN
9780152928698
9780613157360
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Ages 3-6. Kids will adore this big fat hen, and even though the book doesn't really work as the counting book it's supposed to be, the artwork is enough to carry it. The text is the old rhyme, "One, two, buckle my shoe," and the double-page spreads show the hen and her chicks (first appearing as eggs) enacting the words. On the pages on which the numbers appear, for instance, "5, 6," there are six eggs and five caterpillars, a dual concept that may be difficult for beginning counters to comprehend. The next page, "Pick up sticks," is even more chock-full, with chicks and lots of sticks everywhere. Children who want to skip the counting altogether can just enjoy the singsong text and the pictures executed in acrylic paints. The big fat hen is very large and quite beautiful, with iridescent green feathers accented with purple and red; her friends are just as lovely, all colors, some with delicate patterns in their feathers. With oversize characters and objects that can be seen at the very back of the room, this is a ready read-aloud for the story-hour set. ~--Ilene Cooper

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Increasing numbers of newly hatched chicks buckle a shoe, shut the door, pick up sticks and lay them straight in this ebullient version of ``One, Two, Buckle My Shoe.'' Baker's ( Elephants Aloft ) bold outlines, plump figures and vibrant acrylics add up to an especially appealing counting primer for children just old enough to have learned the familiar rhyme. The big fat hen herself is enormous and grand, a stately splash of emerald covering most of a two-page spread. She and her several hen friends have friendly, even merry miens that exude reassurance and warmth; distinguished from one another by plumage color and pattern, as a group they have the sparkle of a cluster of gems. Additional creatures--three worms, five snails, seven bees--carry out the counting theme on a smaller scale, providing fresh interest for the frequent rereadings that are sure to ensue. Ages 2-6. Children's BOMC main selection. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-A large, brilliantly colored rendition of the counting rhyme ``one, two, buckle my shoe.'' Baker uses an imaginative array of acrylic colors for his hens-greens, purples, and pinks to contrast with the warm, yellow straw background. There are lots of things to count, such as sticks, eggs, chicks, and hens. A fine choice for toddler story hours.-Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

The familiar children's counting rhyme is vigorously illustrated with a series of hens trying to catch insects and laying eggs; the resulting chicks perform the actions. Each hen is gloriously different, with brilliant plumage, while every chick is exactly alike. From HORN BOOK 1994, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

In vibrant full-bleed spreads, a boldly graphic rendition of ``1, 2, buckle my shoe,'' with the numbers from 1 to 10 enacted by the ``big fat hen'' and her friends and their hatching chicks. The spread for each couplet's first line features a decoratively individualized hen with an appropriate number of insects and eggs; in the second, the eggs have hatched and the chicks carry out the action described. The bright, uncluttered acrylic illustrations are rendered in saturated tones strongly outlined in black on a ground of golden yellow, making the figures especially easy to count, while large square pages and bouncy hand lettering add to the visual effectiveness. After the basic rhyme is complete, however, the book's internal logic falters. Six hens are counted, then ``all their eggs'' are presented: 50, i.e., 20 more than appear within the rhyme, while the chicks that hatch from them number only 49. Still, the art is gorgeous. (Picture book. 2-7)

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.