Crocodile and Hen: A Bakongo Folktale (I Can Read Level 1) - Softcover

Lexau, Joan M

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0064442632 ISBN 13: 9780064442633

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2002

Synopsis

Crocodile is determined to eat fat and juicy-looking Hen!

But when he opens his mouth wide to swallow her, Hen calmly says, "My brother, don′t eat me," and Crocodile just can′t do it. What does Hen mean? How can Crocodile be her brother? Does Hen know something Crocodile doesn′t?

Clever Hen outwits the confused and hungry Crocodile in this comic folktale from the Bakongo people of Africa.

Ages 4-6

About this title

About the Author:

Joan Lexau is the author of many picture books for children including the My First I Can Read Book Go Away, Dog, written under the pen name, Joan Nodset, and illustrated by Paul Meisel. Ms. Lexau lives in Otisville, NY.

Doug Cushman is the creator of many favorite mystery stories for young readers featuring such memorable heroes as the intrepid Aunt Eater, the grasshopper gumshoe Inspector Hopper, and the ace reporter Dirk Bones. He has also illustrated many books written by other authors, including Jack Prelutsky's What a Day It Was at School! He lives in Paris, France.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-2-Lexau offers an easy-reader version of her picture book Crocodile and Hen (Harper & Row, 1969; o.p.), having modified the sentence structures into simple constructions. Cumulative elements flow smoothly as Crocodile worries about how he can devour Hen when she keeps calling him "my brother" and has no fear of him. Befuddled, he seeks the advice of Lizard to try to understand why he can't savor "that fat, good-to-eat Hen," and his friend offers a simple but satisfactory explanation. Cushman's multicolored, watercolor palette replaces Joan Sandin's green, yellow, and blue shades in the earlier edition. They capture the humor of the situation and the characters' expressions. A well-documented, true-to-its-source folktale.
Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0064442632
• ISBN 13: 9780064442633
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Cushman Doug