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Summary
Summary
Poor little gray bunny. He's the only one that does any work around the barn. From weaving the baskets to baking the cupcakes to caring for the flowers, the little gray bunny does it all. He gets no help from the turtle, who likes to hide all day long. The duck won't leave the tub, pool, or wherever there is water. And forget about the lamb--all she wants to do is eat hay!
When the little gray bunny finds a big pile of eggs ready for dyeing and hiding, his lazy friends refuse to help. But when it comes time for the Easter egg hunt, the turtle, duck, and lamb can't wait to join in and get a prize. But the little gray bunny has a trick up his sleeve--and the prize is not what his friends expect.
This retelling of "The Little Red Hen" is a wonderful companion to Barbara Barbieri McGrath's earlier books, THE LITTLE RED ELF and THE LITTLE GREEN WITCH. Violet Kim's bright and kid-friendly illustrations add to the humor of this timeless and classic story.
Author Notes
Barbara Barbieri McGrath has written over twenty books for children, including The Little Red Elf , The Little Green Witch , and many bestselling math concept books. Her love for writing, children and making learning fun was the inspiration for her first children's book, The M&M Brand Counting Book , which sold over 1 million copies. She lives in Natick, Massachusetts.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-In McGrath's third adaptation of "The Little Red Hen," the little gray bunny seeks help from the turtle, the duck, and the lamb as he prepares for Easter, to no avail. He works tirelessly to collect eggs, boil and dye them, and hide them in the meadow. As expected, his friends are more than willing to join in a hunt for the eggs and to share in some holiday treats. True to the original tale, the bunny has his revenge, supplying his friends with fertilized eggs instead of jelly beans and cupcakes, and they are shocked to find themselves surrounded by newly hatched chicks. The turtle, the duck, and the lamb are selfish and lazy, as expected, but they are also haughty. The illustrations are done in watercolor, pen, and gouache; they lack warmth, and the colors are harsh. This Easter tale has a clever twist, but it does not have the allure of McGrath's The Little Green Witch (2005) and The Little Red Elf (2009, both Charlesbridge).-Diane Antezzo, Ridgefield Library, CT (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The Little Red Hen folktale gets an Easter makeover in this story of a rabbit whose friends aren't interested in helping collect, boil, decorate, and hide Easter eggs. McGrath (who offered a different holiday twist on this story in The Little Red Elf) deviates from the traditional repeated "Not I" responses, as the lamb, turtle, and duck snarkily refuse the rabbit's attempts to engage them ("Do you even know me?" says the duck, lounging in its bathtub). Kim's (Earth Day, Birthday!) T-shirt-wearing, turnip-headed hero exudes a sense of both earnestness and mischief, the latter surfacing in the wry "treats" he gives his not-so-helpful friends in the end-a trio of hyperactive, newly-hatched little red hens. Ages 3-6. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
In McGrath's banal retelling of "The Little Red Hen," a little gray bunny does all the chores while the lamb, turtle, and duck laze about the barn. With the lure of a treat, the bunny recruits the useless trio to join in an egg hunt. Their comeuppance: the annoying freshly hatched chicks are the prize. The trite illustrations feature goofy-looking animals. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
McGrath extends her series of holiday-themed retellings of "The Little Red Hen" with her third entry, this time focusing on Easter. On an old-fashioned farm, a gray bunny is getting ready for Easter in the barn where he lives with his three friends: a lamb, a turtle and a duck. The bunny is resourceful and industrious, like his Little Red Hen counterpart, but the three friends are predictably lazy and self-involved. The lamb focuses on finding more hay, the turtle hides and plays peekaboo, and the duck searches for any sort of water for swimming. The text follows the familiar structure of the traditional tale, with lots of humor woven in, including silly responses from the turtle and clever rejoinders from the bunny. ("These creatures have no artistic imagination.") Cartoon-style illustrations in watercolor, pen and gouache add zing with a bright palette of springtime colors and an individual personality for each character. The lazy friends get their comeuppance just as in the original story, when the bunny enjoys the Easter goodies and the friends are stuck with just-hatched, mischievous chicks instead of cupcakes and jelly beans. An amusing tale, especially for children already familiar with the original folk tale. (Picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In a clever reimagining of the familiar tale The Little Red Hen, McGrath offers a barnyard romp with hardworking Bunny, hay-munching Lamb, image-obsessed Turtle, and water-loving Duck. While the others pursue their favorite leisure activities, Bunny does all the work in the barn. One day he discovers hundreds of eggs and decides to collect, boil, dye, and hide the eggs in the nearby meadow. Of course no one will help him until it is time for the fun part hunting for the eggs. In an interesting but teachable twist, the surprise the others get for finding the eggs is newborn chicks (which require a lot of work), while Bunny rewards himself with jelly beans and cupcakes. The result is a colorful, delightful story that youngsters will enjoy and maybe even learn from especially at Easter time.--Moore, Melissa Copyright 2010 Booklist