The Little Red Fort
“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.”
The Little Red Fort is a retelling of the classic folktale, The Little Red Hen. Brenda Maier reimagines the Little Red Hen character as Ruby - a determined little girl who has the spirit of an engineer.
We love retellings of classics partly because of the tradition of passing stories on to the next generation. If you couldn’t tell by now, we believe that storytelling is a powerful tool that affects (and reflects) culture, relationships, and learning. Retelling a classic gives us a chance to humanize the characters and consider their perspectives through our own experiences.
Helping young children to develop a sense of empathy is beneficial because it helps them to build relationships with others through tolerance and acceptance. Being able to see themselves in the story also helps children to name feelings they are experiencing and ways to deal with them.
The story of The Little Red Hen might encourage us to think about helping others, why we do it, and when we should or should not. It’s also a great conversation starter about mercy. In the original, Hen refuses to share her delicious bread because no one helped her to make it. In this new version, the others absolve themselves by pitching in and then everyone gets to join in on the fun to be had. This is a great opportunity to read both and compare and contrast. If you do, you’re well on your way to supporting the next generation of critical thinkers!
Some Things to Think About…
How do you help people around you?
Why should we help others? When should we not help? What is the difference?
How does it feel when you help others? Does it matter if it makes you feel good too? Why or why not?
Can you teach someone to be helpful? How would you do that? SHould we do that?
illustrated by Sonia Sánchez
