Mrs. Chicken the Hungry Crocodile is a new take on an old folktale style. After shunning her usual puddle for the bigger river, the vain Mrs. Chicken almost gets eaten by Crocodile. In order to save her feathers, Mrs. Chicken uses her wit to buy time, convincing Crocodile they are sisters. And all of us who have sisters know that sisters do not eat sisters, right?
Use this book to teach the moral of the story, as all good folktales impress. Morals here include be content with what you have and vanity got the chicken. Compare/contrast this folktale to classics like Chicken Little or The Little Red Hen. One of the co-authors, Won-Ldy Paye, is from northeastern Liberia, so discuss the habitat of chickens there as opposed to the chicken barns in North America. Oh, and the science connection! Birds and reptiles lay eggs.
There is a resurgence of backyard chicken coops, so if you need to prove to someone just how smart chickens are, read them this book.
An Education in Books Blog 