Learning from Picture Books – CHICKEN IN SCHOOL by Adam Lehrhaupt & Shahar Kober

This is a cute story that encourages creative thinking and dramatic play!

            

Summary from the publisher:

Join Zoey the chicken for a tour of her unusual classroom in this celebration of creativity, friendship, and tasty snacks. When Zoey decides to turn the barn into a school and become a teacher, everyone in the barnyard learns that the best part of school is using your imagination.

From the hilarious author-illustrator duo that brought you Chicken in Space, this story about playful approaches to activities like reading, math, and recess will inspire any young adventurer to get excited for school.

Chicken in School was written by Adam Lehrhaupt and illustrated by Shahar Kober. It was published in 2017 by Harper.

Opening:

“Zoey wasn’t like the other chickens.

And that’s how Sam liked it.”

My Thoughts as a Writer:

The concept of this story is very appropriate for young children. They will easily connect with the idea of “playing school.” I liked the gentle humor the author created through the secondary characters and their reactions to the main character’s over-the-top ideas. It’s fun to see how the illustrator has enhanced the humor in the text. The expressions on the character’s faces reveal a lot about what they are thinking!

My Thoughts as an Educator:

This book is a nice choice to support play-based learning in a preschool or kindergarten classroom. I especially loved Zoey’s creative way to use books and crayons! This story also promotes a positive attitude towards school.

Ages: 3 - 6

Grades: PreK - 1

Themes:  creativity, imagination, taking risks, friendship, modeling clay

Activities:

Look at the pictures Zoey drew of her adventures. What would your adventure be? Draw a picture to show what you would do.

What other things could you build with besides books? Draw a plan to show what you would build and ask if you can try it out!

Build your own school. What do you need? What would you want to learn?