Red Hen and Sly Fox

From Publishers Weekly Prey outwits predator in this rustic fable. French (Caterpillar, Caterpillar; It's a Go to the Park Day) keeps to the time-honored plot: Sly Fox, hungry for chicken soup, captures Red Hen in a sack and carries her toward his den. But Red Hen is a talented seamstress, and after the fox stops to nap, she uses the sewing kit tucked in her apron to scissor her way free. She places a rock in the bag, sews it shut and escapes; and Sly Fox discovers her handiwork only when the boulder splashes into his kettle of boiling water. As painted by Hobson (Three Bags Full; Chicken Little), Red Hen is a plump morsel, with feathers the hearty hue of tomato soup; slender Sly Fox can't be blamed for working up an appetite. The illustrator creates a cozy, down-home mood with chunky shapes, wide brushstrokes and warm tones; her horizons curve a la kindergarten artists. Despite one or two miscues (French states that Sly Fox carries Red Hen "in a sack on his back" but Hobson shows the sack in the fox's mouth), this energetic book is as fresh as it is classic. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 2?"All the animals in the woods loved Red Hen because she was kind and careful. She mended and sewed for everyone, asking for nothing but a 'please' and a 'thank you' in return." Unfortunately for Red Hen, Sly Fox's affection for her is in more of a culinary sort of way. Getting into her house on the pretense of needing his socks darned, he manages to get her in a sack and heads home for his kitchen. On the way he stops to rest, giving the clever chicken an opportunity to cut herself free, using the pair of sewing scissors she always keeps in her apron pocket. In her stead, she places a large stone in her captor's bag, which produces a scalding splash when he dumps it in his stew pot. This delightful version of a familiar story is enlivened with bold, double-page illustrations done in gouache poster paints and inks. It's sure to be a hit with the preschool story-time set. Try pairing it with Keiko Kasza's Wolf's Chicken Stew (Putnam, 1987).?Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WICopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.