Read & Create: Three Hens and a Peacock

As a mom who has always been pretty into kids picture books, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that November is Picture Book Month, and a bit shocked that up until earlier this month, I had no idea the celebration even existed! It was a pretty natural move for me to join a group of other bloggers who were putting together daily projects and actitivies based on the Picture Book Month calendar’s prompts. 

Since I was jumping into the mix a little late, I chose a day towards the end of the month, to give me a little time to formulate a project as well as simply adjust to this whole blogging thing, which is still pretty brand new to me. I ordered Lester Laminack (author) & Henry Cole’s (illustrator) Three Hens and a Peacock, and anxiously tore into the package when it was delivered.

Three jealous hens and one frustrated peacock switch roles for a day, and learn that the grass is not always greener. The story is a wonderful lesson for all ages in the importance of knowing & valuing your own strengths & abilities, as well as focusing on your own accomplishments rather than those of others around you. The colors are bright and lively, and Cole’s depiction of the many animals on the farm allow so much character and personality to shine through, particularly in the exaggerated facial expressions.

When #thebigone and I read the book together, he got such a kick out of the hens getting all fancy, trying to look as good as a peacock. Seeing those chickens with bows & bangles seriously cracked him up, and provided the inspiration for our craft. You can use the three hens printable I designed to gussy up your own chickens too!

My son decided he wanted to color the picture using colored pencils, because he thought using a lot of brown tones in a messy sort of way would make the hens look ‘more real.’ How your family colors their images is up to you- crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint- they’d all work just fine. Once he was done coloring, #thebigone gathered some supplies to make those chickens gorgeous. We had quite an assortment- shiny tape, strings of sequins, small beads, rhinestones, and glitter glue. Ribbons, bows, or lace are also great items to consider using. You very likely already have supplies that would work perfectly on hand, but a quick trip to your local dollar store can also help you stock up inexpensively.

Then, honestly, I just let #thebigone go at it. It’s nice to provide fairly open ended opportunities for creating, and although this did have a predetermined end product, I was happy to let him take total creative control of the decorating process. He got to work a bit on some scissor skills, trying to cut tricky strands of sequins, and also spent some time fumbling a bit with that shiny tape, which is tough to tear. Squeezing the glitter glue is great for hand strength, and although it’s tough to see, #thebigone used glitter glue to write initials on the chickens, so he practiced his handwriting a bit as well.

We had a lot of fun with this book & craft, and we hope you enjoy it too! Feel free to tag me on social media if your family works on this project- I’d love to see your fancy hens too!

If you’re hunting for the accompanying printable, you’re in the right place!

You’ll find other craft ideas to celebrate Picture Book Month right here!