Henny Penny

The story, as dictated to me by my 2-year-old daughter: Cocky Locky. Goosey Loosey. Henny Penny. Goosey Loosey. Fall on head. On a road. Foxy Loxy. Eat the chickens. And the goosey. And Goosey Loosey. She really enjoys saying "Goosey Loosey." Your kid probably will too.

I bought six of my favorite childhood books for my great-grandson..."Little Black Sambo", "The Three Billy Goats Gruff", "Henny Penny", "Chicken Little", "The Three Little Kittens", and "Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit". My great-grandie is 2-1/2 and I can't wait to read these wonderful stories to him.

Hungarian-born New York artist Paul Galdone created the definitive version of a famous children's tale. "Henny Penny," as presented here, is the one anyone in their mid-40s or younger will know. The dramatic call "The sky is falling!" and the frantic gathering of friends to tell the king that some kind of barnyard armageddon has hit begins the story. Henny, not realizing an acorn bounced off her head, overreacts. Presuming the worst, she takes on the responsibility of being the bearer of bad news. With bold brush strokes and rich colors, the classic adventure brings together the feathered friends of Cocky Locky, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, Turkey Lurkey with Henny, and the very mischievous Foxy Loxy. Paul Galdone's ample use of two-page spreads display the excitement as Henny meets one bird after another. I fully recommend "Henny Penny" by Paul Galdone. Anthony Trendl editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Henny Penny by Paul Galdone is not your modern PC story and perhaps that is why it is on my enter-kindergartener's Summer Reading List. Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, and the rest of the credulous crew are in the end, consumed by Foxy Loxy and his family. This last is the one addition that Galdone makes: a more personable approach to the fox. He was only feeding his family. Henny Penny is an old classic fairytale. Like many old tales it contains lessons and opportunities to teach. Besides the lesson that one ought not to take things at face value, all of the names (Loxy Foxy, Goosey Loosey, etc.) rhyme which give the beginning reader the opportunity to see that names that are spelt similarly, sound similarly. Buy this if you want the classic version for your child's library.

Rhyming patterns help with spelling. A student can see the endings of words are the same and follow the patterns for other unfamiliar words. This makes decoding and spelling unknown words easier: Henny, Penny, Lenny, etc. fox, box, lox, pox. Follow-up with any Dr.Seuss book to reinforce rhyming and spelling.