Suitabook
Hen and Eagle
Ann Nduku
African Storybook: original book (opens in a new tab)CC BY 4.0Read Free: Hen and Eagle on African Storybook (opens in a new tab)
Credits & Licence
Originally published by African Storybook Initiative.
Author - Ann Nduku Illustration - Wiehan de Jager Language - English Level - Longer paragraphs © Africa Storybook Initiative 2014 Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 Source www.africanstorybook.org Original source
author: Ann Nduku. illustrator: Wiehan de Jager.
Cover resized and converted to WebP; story unchanged. Suitabook’s guidance is a separate analysis.
Original Book on African Storybook: Hen and Eagle (opens in a new tab)- Reading
- Read together and pause at Eagle's condition before continuing. Let the child say how they expect the problem to end, then discuss how the actual ending feels.
- Themes
- Responsibility and consequences: Hen leaves the borrowed needle unattended; her children later play with it and leave it in the sand, where it is lost. The events connect carelessness with serious consequences, but the story does not explicitly state a moral judgement about Hen or her children.
- Payment and power: Eagle asks for a chick as payment if Hen cannot find the needle, then takes one when it remains missing. The story shows Eagle enforcing her demand, but does not establish whether this is presented as fair or justified.
- A lasting fear: After Eagle carries off a chick, Hen warns her chicks whenever Eagle appears; they say they will run. The ending presents vigilance and flight as the continuing response to Eagle, explaining the birds' wary behaviour within the tale.
- Worth knowing
- Eagle catches and carries away one of Hen's chicks as payment for the missing needle. The loss is direct, though the story does not describe injury.