Margaret H. Lippert

This book was a very enjoyable to read. I enjoyed the plot of the book and how the chicken tricked the crocodile into not eating her. I thought the chicken was very clever and really smart into tricking the crocodile they were related. I like how witty the story was and it kept me engaged with the illustrations from the story. The message of this story is to really appreciate the thing you have. Mrs. Chicken only met the crocodile because she wanted to be able to look at herself fully which show more is why she went to a bigger lake, and which also caused herself to almost be eaten. So at the end of the story she stayed in her puddle where she was safer to be at. show less

When his neighbors knock and his door to tell him it is time to do work in the garden Spider says he will not help, and when he tries to take some of the vegetables from the garden the vegetables begin to talk, and tell him why he cannot take them. Through a tale about animals and vegetables the authors tell a story about morals. While it is clear why the spider cannot eat the vegetables from the village garden, the authors do not paint a full picture: they do not explicitly say what he show more could do in the future or offer ideas regarding what Spider could do now to make it up to the other animals. In an attempt to make it clear that what Spider did was wrong the authors depict the vegetables as scary; what may have started off as an endearing book about helping the group to receive the reward turned into a creepy tale about how scary it can be if you do not do the right thing. The illustrations are painted but are done in elementary style, so that they resemble kids’ drawings. Animals and vegetables are strewn all over the spreads. The pages look like whirls of autumn colors, which make the pages seem dark and dreary. If slightly frightening talking vegetables sound interesting to you, this is the perfect book for you. show less

I read the book, Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile by Won-Ldy Paye an Margaret H. Lippert. I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because it was a cute and enjoyable read for elementary aged children. The characters, the chicken and the crocodile, acted as people in the book. The animals spoke English and the crocodile had a house deep in the river. Furthermore, I liked how the illustrations helped improve the story line. In the beginning of the book, the show more chicken says the puddle is too small for her to bathe in, so she looks at her reflection in the river. Underneath the water is the crocodile who changes her direction whenever the chicken does, so the chicken believes the crocodile is her reflection. It helped immensely to see pictures along with this description because it helped clear misunderstandings and allowed me to see what the author meant to say. The story line was suspenseful and interesting because I knew the chicken would go in the river, but as a reader I did not know what would happen next. However, I did not like a part of the story in this book because it was confusing. Towards the end of the story, the chicken and crocodile hatch eggs. The chicken and crocodile agree to switch babies for what seems like would be forever, but then the chicken is seen leaving the group of crocodiles with her own chicks on the next page. The author hadn’t explained why or how they switched their babies back to their correct mothers. Overall, the plot would be logical if animals could speak. Another example from the plot is when the chicken sticks her foot into the water, the crocodile bites it as it would if this happened in real life. The main idea of the story is to be kind to everyone because you don’t actually know who someone is. For example, in the story the chicken says she is the crocodiles sister so the crocodile does not eat her. The crocodile does not believe the chicken, but before they have the babies the chicken switches the eggs to prove they are related. Then, the crocodile and chicken have a positive relationship because the crocodile lets the chickens go. In the crocodiles eyes, if she had been mean and ate the chicken, she would have never experienced the relationship that formed between them. show less

Mrs. Chicken learns that while the puddle by her home is familiar and boring, it is much safer than the wild river and what dwells within it. This is a fun folktale from Liberia that teaches some good life lessons. The illustrations are playful, simple, and effective.

I really liked this story. In a class of first or second graders, it would definitely be fun to use theatre to bring it to life. Students could take on the roles of the narrator, the crocodile, the chicken, and the six eggs.