The Gift That Keeps On Giving
- Author: Laura Gehl
- Illustrator: Sara Horne
- Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (March 1, 2018)
- Genre: Picture Books
- Pages: 40
- Words: Approx. 259
My Thoughts:
Ana has a birthday coming up so she mentions to Abuela (Spanish for grandma) Lola that tickets to the amusement park would be just grand. But instead of tickets, Ana receives a chicken. A Chicken! A black chicken wearing yellow boots. But hey, Ana reasons, a chicken beats socks or underwear. And even though she has to feed the chicken, she does like scrambled eggs.
But this chicken is anything but ordinary. There is no time for eating or laying eggs. This birthday chicken dons a yellow hard hat and presents Ana with a long list of items she needs to purchase. The list winds across a two-page spread listing such things as 100 steel girders, a hammer, digger, fireworks, 6 bowling balls, and more.
It doesn’t take long before this odd birthday gift recruits Ana’s dog, cat, and hamster to help on the project that is growing quite large in the backyard. In fact, where has all that help come from?
And then there is the chicken’s latest request, to invite Abuela to come for a visit? What! Abuela not only visits but drives a bulldozer and helps with all the backyard work.
What’s up with all the backyard activities, anyway?
The illustrations are colorful and include details that make the story even more fun.
What Concerned Me:
Absolutely nothing.
What I Liked Most:
The humorous chicken communicates only with signs. As an example when Ana carries a basket out to gather eggs, the chicken is holding a sign that states: Sorry, No Time for laying eggs! And as the dog, cat, and hamster join the chicken on the new project they too hold up signs to communicate.
This is a unique story that kids are sure to appreciate. And for those who are always checking for a deeper meaning, I would say you never know when a gift is going to turn out perfect. And I like the fact that Ana is always
looking for the positive about her unexpected gift.
The illustrations are so in tune with the story that I have to give my illustrator’s award to Sarah Horne.
Teaching Helps:
About The Author
I have a B.A. in psychology from Yale and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Georgetown. I’ve taught reading to little kids and biology to big kids. But let’s get to the more interesting stuff.
Favorite food: Chocolate. Not very original, I know, but most people who claim to have a different favorite food are either lying or missing several very important taste buds.
Favorite animals: Do my kids count? Other than those four wild animals, I really love the baby bunny rabbits that hop into the bushes when I jog past them on the trail near my house.
Favorite children’s books: Waaaaay too many to list. But “A Birthday for Frances,” “The Perfect Nest,” “The Big Orange Splot,” and “This is Not My Hat” are a few for the picture book crowd. For older kids, anything by Gordon Korman, Susan Cooper, or L.M Montgomery.
