'The Chicken Gave It To Me' (1993) - Plot & Excerpts
I think that this fable is incredibly exciting and engaging for middle aged children, therefore it would be ideal for story-time because it is likely to open the possibilities for discussions. I also think it would be a great book to set tasks for the children and incorporate Harrowing Farm into their art lessons by maybe getting them to do illustrations similar to the ones inside the book, or even have a school trip to a local farm. I think the authors use of language is very descriptive and can get the children's imaginations ticking, 'try to imagine, first how it felt' (p.16) this gives children the opportunity to experience the fable from the chickens perspective. The chicken had never been outside before and describes how silly and 'chicken dippy' it went when faced with this new sense of freedom. This can encourage the children to reflect on an experience they may have encountered that was thrilling for them and caused their behaviour to be silly. The chicken refers to itself as 'feather brained' these are great ways to introduce the use of metaphorical language in children's books. When the chicken stumbles across the spaceship and discovers that the two little green men are plotting to eat humans it really makes you think about the food chain and why it has become acceptable for humans to eat animals but yet it wouldn't be acceptable for aliens to eat humans. The humans claim to be superior to animals such as 'chickens and pigs' but the aliens respond by saying they do not consider humans to be superior and say 'the only thing you lot really had going for you was that you ran the whole planet'. This gives children the opportunity to think of our powers as humans and think about the responsibilities we have to ensure that we do not take the planet for granted, as it is in our control. It triggers the children to think about where meat comes from and the characters in the book reflect meat eaters and non-meat eaters. The character Vinit has never been a meat eater, therefore it teaches children about peoples different beliefs regarding vegetarianism. This book cleverly reverses roles of putting humans into cages ready to be eaten, which really makes the reader think, is it morally right to keep chicken's in cages prior to slaughtering them and eating them? 'Now look at you! The tables are turned, and do any of you have the guts to face the fact you're getting no worse than you gave out?' (p39). Andrew another one of the characters explains that he would happily eat the meat if he knew that it had lived a happy life before it was slaughtered. This is something that has also made me think about the eat that I consume, and I agree with Andrew. From this day forward, I will be making a conscious effort to eat free range chicken, because I understood the moral of the fable. Gemma joins in with Andrew suggesting that she wouldn't mind being eaten if she had been given the opportunity to live her life to the fullest before being eaten and if it was done in a fair procedure. At the very end of the book Andrew and Gemma go off singing ''Let your chickens run around! Eggs are tastier if they can't be found" this explains that there is nothing wrong with eating fresh chicken eggs and chickens but it is our responsibility as human beings to ensure that we think about where we are getting our meat from and the effects that our actions have on our food chain.
What do You think about 'The Chicken Gave It To Me' (1993)?
