The Chicken Gave it to Me

The Chicken Gave it to Me by Anne Fine is an adventure for 8 year olds about a hen with a story to tell and some unwelcome visitors from space.

What happens

Andrew brings a dusty little book to school. He says a chicken gave it to him on the way. Gemma thinks this is a very unlikely explanation.

The cover does look as though it's been pecked. The writing is suspiciously scratchy too. Eventually she agrees to read it with him, which is where things get even stranger.

Inside is the hen's own story of life at Harrowing Farm. The chickens spend their days shut in cages. Then a spaceship arrives and little green visitors open the doors, although they have their own reasons for wanting the shed empty.

Andrew and Gemma are very funny together. He's trying to explain something important and she keeps correcting him. Can a chicken really pounce?

If your reader knows someone who has to pick at EVERY little detail, they'll probably recognise how fed up Andrew gets. Gemma has an answer for everything. You can feel how much he wants her to stop arguing and just listen.

Once they open the book, you hear from the chicken herself. She has plenty to say about having nowhere to stretch her wings. The visitors seem to think life in a cage has been some sort of treat, which makes their comments especially irritating.

There's more to this than a funny talking animal. The children start wondering about the sheds Andrew walks past on his way to school. You may find your reader wondering what goes on behind those doors too.

The farm scenes are worth knowing about. The hen describes cramped cages and sore feet, and the story is very clear that the animals have been treated badly. A child expecting a cheerful farmyard adventure could find this upsetting.

For a reader who likes an animal having her own say about humans, that may be what makes it interesting. The jokes give you plenty to laugh at, but they don't make the hen's complaints any less serious.

What to read next

Foxcraft - The Taken offers another animal's view of a dangerous world. It's also in the library, with a young fox searching for her family and trying to make sense of the humans around her.