Catherine at The Story Snug has knitted a great reviews of Gold Early Reader, The Chicken Knitters, written by Cath Jones and illustrated by Sean Longcroft.
The Chicken Knitters is an Early Reader which tells the story of how knitting fan Lilly rescues Farmer Claw’s neglected chickens. With five short chapters and an amusing, original storyline that highlights the plight of battery hens, it’s a great book to help a more independent beginner reader gain reading skills and experience.
The Chicken Knitters is written in an easy to read font and the conditions that battery hens live in is introduced in a humorous but thought provoking way. The story could be used to stimulate individual or class conversations about animal welfare and the concept of battery farming.
Sean Longcroft’s illustrations are quirky and full of humour. We love his knitting chickens although we feel very sorry for them when they are first rescued – they don’t have many feathers at all…
The Chicken Knitters is one of Maverick’s Early Readers which support learning to read in a fun and imaginative way. We’re big fans of the books and you can read more about them in our Maverick Early Readers Band 1 and Maverick Early Readers Band 2 blogposts. What we love about these Early Readers is that they are all interesting and fun to read but the texts have been written in consultation with a reading specialist to ensure that they fit into the UK school curriculum. As a teacher I think that they make learning to read in a fun way, unlike some of the reading schemes that I have used in primary school.