A Hen for Izzy Pippik

by Aubrey Davis, Marie Lafrance (Illustrator)

Overview

When Shaina finds a magnificent hen, she knows that Izzy Pippik, the hen's owner, is sure to return for her. In the meantime, Shaina decides she will care for the animal. But when dozens of eggs hatch and rowdy chickens scatter throughout the village, Shaina must fight the entire town if she has any hope of protecting the birds. Inspired by Jewish and Islamic traditional texts, this is a beautiful tale about doing the right thing, even in the face of adversity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781525312663
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,121,167
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Before writing and telling stories, Aubrey Davis raised goats, sawed logs and sold antiques. As a young man he traveled across Europe and North Africa, where he discovered traditional Teaching-Stories collected by Afghan writer Idries Shah, of which he said: “These bottomless tales provoked, puzzled and delighted me. They helped me look at things in fresh, new ways.” Aubrey began to tell these stories in nursing homes, schools, festivals, libraries and jails, and on radio and television. For 40 years, he told traditional stories to people of all ages across North America. He also taught oral language for 17 years to primary and special needs students. Aubrey passed away in 2022.
Marie Lafrance has spent her whole life drawing pictures, at first to keep from biting her nails, then for magazines, newspapers, posters, billboards, board games and the likes. She also illustrated tons of educational books, and eventually segued into picture books. She studied Graphic Arts and Etching, worked as a printmaker and eventually started illustrating, a career which is not really a career as much as a lifestyle — she basically lives in her studio, cooking up characters.

Editorial Reviews

Lafrance deserves a special shout-out for her work-she proves once again that she's a rare talent who can combine naïf rendering with a highly sophisticated and consistently inventive sense of composition.—Publisher's Weekly

This is a book to savor and reread ...—Booklist

Steadfast and quietly amusing, Shaina is a girl to admire.—Kirkus Reviews

... charmingly told with pleasing conversational patterns and alliteration. ... A good choice where folktales or character education stories are in demand.—School Library Journal

Traditional Talmudic and Islamic texts form the bones of the story, which is delivered with a deft and witty touch.—Jewish Book World

A great story that illustrates how a child who sees the world in black and white is introduced to shades of grey, with the help of her grandfather.—The Victoria Times Colonist

From the Publisher

Times were tough,” writes Davis in his opening to this sharp-witted tale drawn from Jewish and Islamic sources. But when little Shaina comes across a beautiful chicken whose crate has apparently fallen off a truck, the girl doesn’t think poached eggs and fricassee, as her Grandpa and Mama do. Cut from the same cloth as True Grit’s Mattie Ross and bearing a comically striking resemblance to the hen, Shaina stubbornly believes she must protect the bird and its offspring until the putative owner, Izzy Pippik (the name on the busted crate) returns. Readers probably won’t doubt that Shaina will triumph, but Davis (Kishka for Koppel) and Lafrance (The Firehouse Light) don’t make life easy for their heroine; yes, Shaina stands her ground against a grumpy, impoverished town overrun with potential chicken dinners, but when one of her neighbors calls her a “hard-headed nuisance,” it’s a fair assessment. Lafrance deserves a special shout-out for her work—she proves once again that she’s a rare talent who can combine naïf rendering with a highly sophisticated and consistently inventive sense of composition. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 5—Based on ancient Jewish and Islamic tales, and following on the heels of the recent retelling by Elka Weber in One Little Chicken (Tricycle, 2011), this is the story of a chicken lost and the honest girl who finds her. Shaina comes upon a hen near a broken crate marked Izzy Pippik Chickens and Eggs. Despite her family's hunger, she is determined to keep the hen for Izzy until he returns. Months pass, and generations of fowl are born, but Shaina will not let the townspeople eat the chickens or the eggs. The poor village's fortunes rise as it becomes a tourist spot known for its giant flock of lovely poultry, and the people panic when Izzy Pippik finally appears. Luckily, the kindly man gifts the flock to the town and all ends happily. This version is charmingly told with pleasing conversational patterns and alliteration. The Jewish flavor of the story comes through in the names of the townspeople, although their ethnicity is never stated explicitly. The colored pencil illustrations are striking with their clean lines, slightly surreal figures, and muted palette. The early-20th-century setting gives the book a folksy, old-fashioned feeling without pushing it completely into the world of long ago. While Shaina's hardheadedness may seem a bit difficult to fathom, the entertainingly told story and compelling illustrations will pull readers in. A good choice where folktales or character education stories are in demand.—Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

School Library Journal

When Shaina discovers an unusual hen sporting "emerald green feathers with golden speckles," she strives to find its rightful owner. Although her hungry family wants to make chicken soup, Shaina insists they restore the newfound hen to Izzy Pippik, who has left town. By the time he returns, the hen has given birth to a multiplying flock of chickens. The chickens have overrun the town, and people are mad, but then the merchants realize that the freely ranging chickens have brought prosperity back because everyone wants to visit. Shaina is overjoyed when Pippik shows up. She tries to return Yevka, the original hen, and the whole flock, but Izzy matches her honesty with his generosity by allowing all to stay. Shocked, Shaina tells him he can't. "If they're mine to have," he says, "they're mine to give," and the poverty-stricken townspeople have been saved by an upright girl and an altruistic gentleman. Retro, droll pencil illustrations colored in Photoshop show a European town in the 1930s. Shaina and Yevka echo each other as they walk along, with red bow and comb, black braid and tail feather bouncing in the breeze, green-and-white pinafore dress and feathers. Although no specific sources are stated, the author/storyteller has drawn upon Talmudic and Islamic folklore. Steadfast and quietly amusing, Shaina is a girl to admire. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews