New twist for classic kids’ tale

Children's book puts new spin on classic hen story

IT WAS TIME for that old classic, The Little Red Hen, to get an Arizona attitude.

You may remember the familiar children’s story in which the industrious Little Red Hen teaches her lazy friends that only those who work hard reap the benefits. Now, a local children’s author has reworked the classic fable and added some spice for a new generation in the recently released Burro’s Tortillas (Sylvan Dell Publishing, 2007, $15.95 hardcover/$8.95 paperback). Terri Fields, a former Arizona Teacher of the Year who teaches at Sunnyslope High School, says the story was long overdue for an update. “I thought the message was a really good message about working hard to get results but I wanted to give it a Southwestern twist,” she says.

In Burro’s Tortillas, instead of Little Red Hen threshing wheat, it’s spunky Burro grinding white corn to make tortillas. And, when animal friends are asked to help with each step, instead of responding repeatedly with the sing-song “Not I,” the coyote, bobcat and jackrabbit all answer back, “Yo no.”

Fields, who has lived in Arizona for 35 years, has an affinity for Southwest culture and she sprinkles Spanish phrases throughout the book, including a glossary of Spanish terms along with a simple tortilla recipe. Although her book was just released this summer, she’s already had positive feedback from teachers. She says kids enjoy repeating the familiar phrases as they mimic the different desert animal characters. “Kids really respond to it, it’s a lot of fun to see that.”

Fields, who has published 17 books for grades kindergarten through high school since 1989, recommends the book for a wide-range of ages: little kids like the repetition while older kids laugh at the puns (coyote can’t help because he’s taking a “coyo tea break”).
And, who knows, it just might get your kids to help out in the cocina.