'Tiny Polly: The story of a brave chicken' is a little book with a big message. Written by Jinan Samman and beautifully illustrated in watercolour by Evgeniya Kozhevnikova, it can be shared with young children but is also simple enough to be tackled by beginner readers on their own.
Polly lives on a farm with other chickens but because of her small size, she is not included in any of their activities. Desperate to be like the others, she tries to make herself grow but to no avail. It takes a serious occurrence when the farmer is away at market before the flock realises that Polly is more than worthy of their respect and friendship and that differences are to be praised not condemned. Her courage and ingenuity win acceptance in the end and her self esteem is really boosted.
Children will more than likely pick up on the bullying by the bigger chickens and relate this to their own experiences, so the story is an excellent way to encourage the sharing of any concerns. Even if this is not a problem though, young children will surely appreciate the lesson the chickens learn in this delightful picture book and will read it again and again.
Drena Irish, A LoveReading4Kids Amabssador
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| Primary Genre | Indie Author Books |
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A joy to read to little ones.
A charming story with lovely pictures.... Read Full Review
The idea of celebrating each character's uniqueness is commendable and increasingly needed in today's society. With this in mind, 'Tiny Polly' could be helpful as a book that an infant teacher might use as a starting point for discussion.
When Polly the hen is made fun of due to her small stature, in questioning how she might grow bigger, she decides to eat grass like the cows but to no avail. One day when the farmer is at market selling eggs, a fox traps the hen inside the hen house but Polly manages to escape and alerts the farm dog who frightens the fox away and save the hens. The hens are grateful to her and Poly realises that everyone is special despite their size.
Illustrated in gentle colours, the art work has a traditional feel to it which is comparable with the story line. The idea of celebrating each character's uniqueness is commendable and increasingly needed in today's society.... Read Full Review
