Sun-mi Hwang

A delightful little story translated from Korean, that features a hen called Sprout and all the farmyard animals. This could be a children’s book but also works as an adult story, it takes the form of a folktale, and all the animals have personalities and voices. Sprout has lived her life as a battery hen and has one dream: to hatch a chicken. After flying the coop she has many adventures, including daring escapes from the weasel and her friendship with misfit wild duck Straggler. The story is about motherhood, friendship and bravery. A cute tale, sad at times, and the audiobook narration by Jill Larson was also good.… (mehr)

This book had been on my to-read list FOREVER. Somewhere I saw this described as a Korean Charlotte's Web, and I think that is just about perfect. A farmyard of anthropomorphized animals, an extremely earnest narrator, with the farms as The Man who won't just Let The Animals Live! Messages of following your dreams, resilience, and self-sacrifice, while also side-eyeing scarcity mentality. Less focused on winning the state fair and more focused on not getting eaten by Weasel. A fast read appropriate for kids and adults alike.… (mehr)