"Medio Pollito / Half-Chicken"

Medio Pollito / Half-Chicken
Written by: Alma Flor Ada
Illustrated by: Kim Howard
Published by: Delacorte Press in NY in 1995
ISBN: 0-385-32044-2
Genre(s): Picture Book, Traditional Literature (Multicultural Work)
Reading Level: Grade 3
Activity Level: Grades 2 & 4

Summary: This is a book about a chicken born with “only one wing, one leg, one eye, and half as many feathers as the other chicks” (p. 6). The other animals, who, through gossip, quickly found out about him, began to call him “Half-Chicken.” When he overheard the swallows saying that “Not even at the court of the viceroy in Mexico City is there anyone so unique,” (p. 10) he decided to find out for himself. He set out for the City and along the way, he helped a stream by removing some branches from blocking it, a small fire continue burning by fanning it with his wing, and the wind become detangled from some bushes, and after each good deed, the stream, the fire, and the wind asked him to say, but he repeated that he was on his way to see the viceroy and could not remain with them (thus, the repetitive nature of this story.) When he arrives at the viceroy’s residence, someone tells him to go in the back way through the kitchen and the cook throws him in the pot of stew. Since he was so nice to the water, it spills over the pot and since he was so nice to the fire, it goes out so it does not burn him, and because he was so kind to the wind, it carries him home that night. And the moral of the story is: we all have our special gifts, being unique is good, and we should be kind to those around us. Also, the author writes this tale about weather vanes having one leg and turning the way their “friend” the wind blows.

Response: I love that this is a dual language book because it can be understood by the two main groups of students in one’s classroom—English- and Spanish-speaking, which is very important. Reading this book in the way I detailed below ensures that both these groups understand and are engaged in the lesson.

All of the illustrations in this book are double-page spreads of vibrant colors. They look as though they have been painted and then the illustrator used a tool to scratch off some of the color, which gives the work a very interesting texture.

Teaching Connections: A teacher could read this book to her second grade class in Spanish and then ask them what they think happened on each page. Then, she could read each page in English and see if they were correct. Then, she could tell students about folk tales and the class could discuss the main idea behind this story—helping one another and accepting our uniqueness.

In a fourth grade classroom a teacher could read each page in Spanish, ask her students what they think happened, and then read the page on English. Then, she could teach about folktales, have children explore this website and then have them write a story that explains why something is the way that it is.

What Students Learn: From this book and the activities children increase their bilingual skills and folk tales. They also learn a little about Mexico, about helping one another and being unique, and gain better writing skills.

Image Retrieved From: http://www.randomhouse.com/images/dyn/cover/?source=9780440413608&height=300&maxwidth=170.