Parents' Guide to Chicken Soup

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Common Sense Media Review

By Dawn Friedman , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 4+

Cute book, but may be too intense for some preschoolers.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 4+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 2+

Based on 1 parent review

age 4+

Based on 2 kid reviews

What's the Story?

The farmyard is all aflutter because Mrs. Farmer has taken out her big black pot. All the animals know what that means -- time for chicken soup! The hens all go running, but Little Chickie has a cold and she can't keep up! No matter where she hides, her sneezes and sniffles seem to give her away.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1 ):
Kids say ( 2 ):

CHICKEN SOUP is an adorable book, but it might not be the best choice for all kids. For families whose diets include poultry, this book might inspire some interesting conversations about where meat comes from. Also, sensitive kids might get a little too caught up in Little Chickie's dilemma, especially since the suspense builds like a horror movie for preschoolers: The Farmer gets closer and closer while Little Chickie scurries for a hiding place, abandoned by the older chickens who are more concerned about their own necks than they are for the most vulnerable among them. In short, parents who know their kids don't do well with tension might want to skip to the last page before going back to read the book.

There's not much to the pictures, which are fine but fairly indistinguishable from any number of farmyard books.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why the chicken was scared. What can you do when you're scared? They can also talk about rumors and making assumptions. How do you find out whether something is true or not?

Book Details

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