| Title | : | The Chickens Build a Wall |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0802854222 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780802854223 |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 33 |
| Publication | : | First published March 15, 2012 |
The Chickens Build a Wall Reviews
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This picture book vividly illustrates just how quickly paranoia and xenophobia can cause someone to act badly. In this case, several chickens on a farm become disturbed by the arrival of a hedgehog. When the prickly creature curls up into a ball to protect itself from all the noise and attention, the chickens are offended and don't know what to make of its behavior. One by one, various chickens with their own axes to grind, as well as a rooster with his own agenda, fan the flames of anxiety, and they decide to build a protective wall. While I loved how the chickens behave just like humans do when they encounter something or someone new or different, the ending could have used a little bit more build up. The colorful illustrations capture the chickens' mindless actions and fear, somewhat ironic when one considers the size of the invader they are attempting to keep from their domain.
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I must admit that I read this book because I saw a review that likened the rooster and his wall-building mission to Donald Trump and his presidential campaign lunacy. And I must say that Jean-Francois Dumont must have had psychic abilities back in 2011 when he wrote and illustrated The Chickens Build a Wall because it really does bear an uncanny resemblance to current events.
In all seriousness though, this book does have a serious lesson to teach young readers. One day a hedgehog shows up in the middle of the barnyard and the animals have no idea what he is. At first they are fascinated by him, and they all gather around to observe. Feeling a little overwhelmed, the hedgehog rolls into a ball and stays there for the rest of the day. When the barnyard awakens in the morning, the hedgehog is gone and the gossip and rumors start to fly. The animals quickly move from being curious about the newcomer to envisioning that he had come to steal their chicks and eggs. A quick search shows that all are accounted for, but there might possibly be fewer worms than before. A rooster, looking for some attention, convinces the hens that they needed to build a wall to keep the "invader" out. Mob mentality takes over, and a huge wall is erected, only to discover that the hedgehog has been hiding in the hay on the inside of the wall the entire time. It takes so long for the rooster to dig an opening in the wall to get the hedgehog out, that all the animals get used to him and aren't afraid anymore, and he stays the rest of his days in the barnyard.
The narrative of the story is rather lengthy and written to a 4th grade level, and the lesson to be learned is fairly serious, so for those reasons I would recommend this book to readers over kindergarten age. The illustrations are stunning and combine a wonderful, orange-red palette, with adorable animals. There is great use of shadowing and different view points, which help tell the story. For example, when the rooster is acting grandiose and preaching to the other animals about the need for protection, he is larger than life, towering over the hens, who are only seen from the tops of their heads.
For the right reader or audience, this is a very well-told story that teaches about the dangers of intolerance and xenophobia, and encourages people to learn about the unknown instead of condemning it automatically as a threat. -
Not as awesome as I hoped, but still relevant to the current situation.
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Why did the chickens build a wall?
Clearly, that prickly little guy is a big threat.
When the mysterious visitor disappears just as mysteriously as he appeared, the rooster rallies the rest of the chickens to build a wall to keep out all infidels.
The other barnyard animals (including the world's largest rat) are perplexed by this obvious over-reaction.
But the chickens persist with their plan to build...
...and build...
...to the neglect of all other duties, including egg laying, with the tyrannical rooster urging them on. (Apparently, humans either don't exist in this world or are too intimidated to interfere.)
Will the chickens succeed in keeping out the hedgehog? Or will all their hard work be for naught?
Originally written in French, this is a humorous indictment of xenophobia. Children will most likely just see it as a silly story about barnyard animals, especially considering that everyone knows chickens are pretty stupid.
The ending is a bit abrupt, but it's a good story with that exception. The illustrations are, quite clearly, wonderful. -
The chickens have discovered a hedgehog on the farm. He is not like them, and they don't know what he wants. So they decide, at the advice and leadership of the rooster, to build a wall. A wall so tall that nothing can get in.
Huh...this was written 6 years ago. The similarities are....curious.
Read a second time. Still curious. -
The ending is abrupt. The pictures are nice. Good starting point to takl about people that are different and accepting others and being friends.
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I think this book is about immigration and paranoia. It works okay as just a story about some really silly chickens, too.
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This book is about accepting people and things for what they are. To treat others, the way that you want to be treated. This is something that is taught at a young age and think that it is fun way to remind kids that it’s not okay to treat people different because they look different than you. I feel that there would are students that feel that they are like the hedgehog that they are different and not accepted. So, this books can help them see that thing will get better and that everyone was born different.
This book is important because it is a book that you can teach to young kids. Like 1st graders because of the pictures are so vibrant they will catch their attention and then the words will too. The book teaches a lesson that I feel that some adults still need to figure out. The chickens are building a wall to keep the hedgehog away from them because they don’t want him around them because they are scared. Another thing that is important to notice is how all the hens follow what the roster has to say because they don’t want to upset him. It teaches kids it’s not okay to single out people because they don’t look like you and not to be afraid to upset someone for something that you believe in. Especially today I feel that this book would be a good thing to have in all class rooms with how divers our country is. As we grow I think that classrooms are going to continue to get more and more diverse and it’s important that we have literature that we can teach in class about quality but in a way that kids will understand.
I really like the illustrations in this book. I feel that they were very appealing to the eye. Another strength I thought was the story line. I think this because it taught a very good lesson and dealt with a serious issue in a way the children could understand it. A weakness I thought was the characters that it chose I know that it was for little kids but I think it would have been better if they used real kids. So that way kids could really see what it looks like and how it feels to be the hedgehog or how it feels to be the hens. -
This story was one that I could immediately see being relatable to most people. What happens is a hedgehog innocently stumbles into a barnyard out of curiosity. The chickens in this barnyard automatically assume that this unfamiliar creature is bad news and will bring trouble to the barnyard since its not what’s considered to be a normal barn animal. The chickens go off and into defense mode agents this little hedgehog. When the chickens decide to circle the new comer hedgehog, it rolls into a scared little ball, reveling all of its pointy spikes. Which then seems as if the chickens then become offended and scared of the little hedgehog. Then as soon as the hedgehog comes into the barnyard it disappears from the chicken. The chickens begin to freak out and accuse this missing hedgehog to be stealing their worms and considering it a threat to the barnyard. The chickens decide the best thing to do is to build a wall around the barnyard to prevent the hedgehog from coming back into the barnyard. As the chickens build, and build, their barnyard wall, the other barn animals are confused by the chicken’s persistence in building the wall, and the time that they dedicate to keep out this “intruder”. After a whole winter of building, the chickens finally build the wall around the barnyard that touches the sky. A wall that could keep out any intruder. Then the chickens realize that the hedgehog was there, inside the wall with them the whole entire time, sleeping all winter in a pile of hay. They insist they get the hedgehog out again, and the head rooster digs a hole under the wall to lead it out of the barnyard. By the time the hole is finished being dug, all the chickens realize that the hedgehog is actually nice and not dangerous at all. The chickens like the hedgehog enough to invite it to stay with them in the barn, the hedgehog then gladly accepts.
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The chickens on the farm have built a wall but no one else is quite sure why. It started when the hedgehog suddenly appeared in the middle of the farm. The chickens were all very concerned about this strange new animal that quickly curled itself into a prickly ball. But most alarming was when it had disappeared the next morning. Perhaps it was after the chicks and eggs! None were missing, but that didn’t stop the hens from accusing the hedgehog of eating their worms. The rooster decided that they could not stand by and have this continue happening, so they leapt into action and built a wall. It was not just a small wall, but one that grew so high that one could not see where it ended in the sky. Can this wall save the chickens? And what is it saving them from exactly?
Dumont tells a story about flighty chickens who jump to absurd conclusions immediately about a foreign creature. The hens are frantic in their reactions, going to such lengths to protect themselves from nothing at all. Readers will see parallels between gated communities and the chickens’ wall as well as the fast judgments made about people who are different from ourselves. This would serve as a very nice book to introduce for discussions about diversity and community.
Dumont’s illustrations have a wonderful silliness to them. The chickens are pop-eyed and always moving quickly. The hedgehog is still, low and quiet. The two set each other off nicely in both the illustrations and the storyline.
Translated from the original French, this book has a universal appeal and also a clever quirkiness that adds charm. Appropriate for ages 4-6. -
This story is about a group of chickens who are skeptical of a new animal that has recently been added to the farm, and that is a hedgehog. All of the animals were so curious about the hedgehog so they were all intriguingly staring at the hedgehog. This made him collapse in a small tight ball and did not say a word. The animals became bored of waiting for the hedgehog to move so they all went to bed. In the morning, they all woke up to the hedgehog gone, he had disappeared and this made all of the chickens very curious as to where he had gone and if he had done anything suspicious. All of the animals became looking around seeing if any eggs had been taken or food stolen. They called this hedgehog a prickly invader. The chickens decided to build a wall around the chickens’ hen house to keep all other invaders and animals out. The other animals thought the chickens were being ridiculous. The wall became so high that you could not even see any part of the hen house, the chickens were so occupied, they forgot to lay eggs. The chickens were so preoccupied with creating a wall that they did not take the time to meet the hedgehog. The other animals on the other hand were very curious, thus took the time to meet and learn about who this mysterious hedgehog was that they did not mind him at all. This book could be used in multiple lessons in teaching. Teachers could choose to just talk about how if you do not get to know someone for who they are you may be missing out on someone. Or teachers could teach about current events. Although this book was written in 2013, it is very relevant to events that are occurring today.
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This story is about a group of chickens who are skeptical of a new animal that has recently been added to the farm, and that is a hedgehog. All of the animals were so curious about the hedgehog so they were all intriguingly staring at the hedgehog. This made him collapse in a small tight ball and did not say a word. The animals became bored of waiting for the hedgehog to move so they all went to bed. In the morning, they all woke up to the hedgehog gone, he had disappeared and this made all of the chickens very curious as to where he had gone and if he had done anything suspicious. All of the animals became looking around seeing if any eggs had been taken or food stolen. They called this hedgehog a prickly invader. The chickens decided to build a wall around the chicken's’ hen house to keep all other invaders and animals out. The other animals thought the chickens were being ridiculous. The wall became so high that you could not even see any part of the hen house, the chickens were so occupied, they forgot to lay eggs. The chickens were so preoccupied with creating a wall that they did not take the time to meet the hedgehog. The other animals on the other hand were very curious, thus took the time to meet and learn about who this mysterious hedgehog was that they did not mind him at all. This book could be used when teaching how to treat others in school. I loved the idea of this book and thought it was very well written! This book could help with bulling and when teachers are having problems with cliques in school.
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A group of chickens crowed around a scared hedgehog who stays curled up in a ball for so long that the chickens grow tired of watching him and decide to leave. When the chickens wake up the hedgehog is gone and in fear that the hedgehog was out to take their belongings they spend countless hours building a tall wall to keep the hedgehog out. However, when the wall is finally finished they find that the hedgehog was with them the entire time. By the time the head rooster digs a hole for the hedgehog to leave they realize he isn't dangerous at all and the hedgehog decides to stay with them.
This book teaches young children the importance of acceptance and not judging people based on what they think they know. The story has a great message but I rated it only three stars because I felt like the ending was very abrupt. The majority of the story was centered around the chickens building the wall. The process lasted the entire duration of the book and as soon as they finished building the wall the hedgehog was found and it felt like their issues were immediately resolved without anything actually happening. I would still read this story to my class based on its important content and situations as children will find pleasure in the chickens actions. -
The strengths of the book include its ability to be applied in any facet of life at any stage. People of any age, both young and old can learn from this book. Those who are fearful of immigrants or intolerant can see the lack of value that comes from a wall. The statement being made by the author regarding the height of the wall is significant in that it shares no matter the height of the wall or the efforts taken to keep others out, one cannot judge a person without getting to know them. By building the wall with the hedgehog inside, the hens were able to realize there was not real threat from the hedgehog. In a similar way, the reader can apply this to their own life and the issues that are pertinent across the world. This book can stand the test of time, if immigration is not an issue in the future, the book can engage readers in a message regarding acceptance of others who are different from themselves. Inability to accept others is a powerful thing in our society. -
This book about fear of the "other" will lead to some great discussions with older students. The chickens are all in a tizzy when a hedgehog shows up on the farm. Rumors spread about the dangers of hedgehogs, and so the chickens build a huge wall with no door to protect themselves. Unfortunately, they've built the wall around the place where the hedgehog hibernated for the winter. While they wait for the rooster to dig an opening, the chickens and the hedgehog grow accustomed to each other, so it all ends well after all.
Perhaps it's due to the translation from French, but there were many missed opportunities for great humor. The story is fairly dry, and I was surprised that the first page said "On the farm, the chickens have built a wall, though no one is exactly sure why." Huh? Still, great for discussion about the walls (or fences) we build and why. -
Through this story The Chickens Build a Wall, there is a problem that arises. There is a mysterious wild animal at a farm where all of these farm animals live. Once the chickens realize that the hedgehog is gone, they use their problem solving skills and decide to built a wall to block away the wild animals. This problem solving tactic does not completely wok because in the end of the story we as readers learn that the hedgehog is inside the wall, however, the chickens came together to attempt to solve a problem. This book is kind of silly but has a great message that could create great discussion inside the classroom. These animals have an issue and they all come together to help solve the problem. This relates to young students as some of them have a hard time getting along. This book could be introduced at the beginning of the year to help set rules throughout the classroom.
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This book serves as a unique way to highlight prejudice. When a hedgehog wanders into the chickens’ barnyard, they automatically assume that he must be trouble. They abandon common sense, and let both rumors and ridicule determine their actions. To keep the hedgehog away from them, the chickens build a giant wall. Later, the chickens discover that the wall actually kept the hedgehog in the barnyard with them. With the humorous illustrations and dialogue, this book is sure to give readers a good laugh. It could be used in the classroom as a read-aloud to help highlight the importance of acceptance. It also emphasizes the importance of inclusivity, and how judging a person before you get to know them might result in you having to admit that you were wrong. This book is great for young readers, and its focus on animals makes the larger themes more accessible for the youngest of students.
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The farmyard has a new visitor, a frightened hedgehog who curls up into a spiky ball. The hedgehog then becomes known as a “prickly invader” who must be dangerous to the chickens, their eggs, and their supply of worms. The rooster seizes the opportunity to take charge and instruct the hens to build a wall to protect themselves. None of the other farm animals seem to understand why the chickens are spending their time doing this, but none the less the wall gets built. In the end, the chickens and the hedgehog learn to tolerate one another and the reader can see that the chickens were quick to jump to conclusions and wasted their time. Dumont has a clever way of teaching the ideas of tolerance and acceptance through the use of chickens and a hedgehog, but it will be an entertaining book to read in my future classroom.
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Chickens worry, along with other barnyard animals, because a hedgehog has appeared in their yard, and no one knows how to handle this "different creature. Some attribute it to some bad things occurring in the past. Some mayhem occurs, and in this weakness, the rooster takes charge again. There are those who take the message and embellish it, suggesting that everyone follow the rooster's call for building a wall. Everyone concurs, and the chickens begin. I don't want to give away the end, but it was disappointing to me, or perhaps the author wanted to leave everyone to consider what will happen next? The illustrations are appealing, showing great variety of facial expressions of the animals.
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The Chickens Build a Wall is a book about a hedgehog that comes to a chicken coop, and because he looks different than everyone else the animals decide to make a wall to keep the hedgehog out so things could stay how they were before he showed up. The hens worked so hard to build the wall that they didn't even notice that the hedgehog was hiding in the straw the whole time, because he was scared of them too. In the end, the hedgehog stays with the chickens. This story would be perfect for a younger group of students because it focuses on important themes like accepting change. Change is a hard concept for younger kids to understand and accept, and using this book to talk about how change isn't always bad would be a great way to introduce them to it.
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Originally published in France 2011. Translated for Eerdmans books 2013.
A hedgehog stumbles onto a farm and startles all the animals who do not know what to make of it. The hedgehog stays curled in a ball then is gone the next morning. The chickens feel threatened by this event and build a wall to protect themselves against future invasions. They build it so tall you can't see the end, but they forgot a door, and it turns out the hedgehog was hibernating in the straw so they walled it in with them. It took all summer to dig a hole out. In that time they all got used to each other so the hedgehog stays and the wall comes down.
Good story to discuss tolerance and overreacting. -
This is a great allegorical story by a french author/illustrator. It is on the USBBY award list and the Notables for a Global Society award list. This book could be read to many age groups. the endpapers are brown and textured with fleeting feathers. Most of the illustrations are full two page openings.
This is a great chance to talk about the fear of someone or something new and how sometimes when we get to know about something, we fear it less. It would also be a great chance to analyze the points of view in the story. Why does the rooster take control? What do some of the animals fear? That do you think the porcupine feels? Is he a threat? -
I was absorbed by the title of this book before I read it. Why did chicken build a wall? I was filled with curiosity when I read this story. It is a funny story, but tells readers a profound philosophy. In society, some people don't accept new things and fear the things what they don't know. Then, those people like the chicken in this story build a wall in their mind for rejecting the new things. When I read this story, I feel the chicken are so stupid.
Discuss about the message from this book, students can learn how foolish it is refusing to new things！It is also a good book for encouraging students to learn new things. -
The Chickens Build a Wall is a story of chickens who build a huge wall to block out an unknown wild animal on their farm. I was not a huge fan of this book personally because I thought the climax of the book happened too late. The farm animals in this story are scared of the hedgehog that takes a little visit to their farm. Instead of making friends with the hedgehog right away, the chickens decide to build a wall to keep all wild animals out. By the time they are done building the wall, they realize that the hedgehog has been sleeping inside the whole time. The theme of this book is that even though you may be different from someone, you still can be friends.
