"Based on an ancient tale from the Babylonian Talmud, and the Hadith of the Prophet Mohammed, this story of an honest and steadfast girl will inspire young and old alike to look within, wifhout, and beyond."
from the back page

I am pretty sure I cannot say anything more about this book that isn't written above, except to exclaim excitedly about the delightful illustrations; they are just so fantastic and add to the words that are telling the story - indeed, sometimes the illustrations tell the story almost better than words. Finely drawn and colored with light, bright colors, the ones who are reading this will find so much more of the story within these illustrations.

This is just magnificent, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Aubrey Davis, Maria Lagrange - Illustrator and Kids Can Press for providing this ARC in exchange for while honest review.

This super cute folktale is about Shaina, who's community is struggling financially. She finds a beautiful chicken one day and tries to return it to it's proper owner, but all she finds is a sign with the name Izzy Pippik. So she decides to keep the chicken, even though her family wants to eat it. And then they want to eat the eggs that the chicken lays, By the time Izzy Pippik turns up, there are A LOT of chickens. I really love the art work in this one too!

Beautiful illustrations and a fun story! Longer than most "bed time" stories but we had so fun reading this.

What a delightful little story! I thoroughtly enjoyed it and can highly recommend it.
It's such a cute little story with lovely illustrations and nice characters. It was just an all around good time reading it. If I had a kid, I'd buy it for their library.

I was drawn into the book based on the cover. The illustrations are beautiful.

I liked that she knew to do the right thing and try to find the chicken’s owner. She knew the animal was not hers to keep, that it was lost and must belong to someone. Everyone did not believe her when she said that Izzy Pippik would be back for his chicken, and I’m glad she was headstrong and remained hopeful, it proved it was worth it in the end as Izzy Pippik came back. These are good values to put into a kid’s book.

The story is a bit bleak for children. Her family suggesting to eat the chicken and it’s egg it made. Her mom was very angry. The townsfolk suggesting to eat the chickens, chasing them - “with hot, hungry eyes”. I felt some of the word choices could’ve been less complex for a children’s book and the length cut down a bit. I don’t think I would give this as a gift or recommend.

Thank you Kids Can Press and Netgalley for an ARC!

This story is so wonderful. It is about a girl who finds this beautiful chicken and decides to keep the chicken safe until her owner returns. The chicken populates and ends up turning the town around after some grumbling from the citizens. Eventually, the owner returns and the Izzy is rewarded for her wonderful heart. The story was a wonderful surprise, I enjoyed it and I know children would also.

Very sweet story with illustrations that perfectly match the tone of the prose. It interwove the importance of honesty and integrity with some humour which I really enjoyed.

Overall, I feel like it was really well done and a lovely read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

This was a cute book. I love the message that it taught. The illustrations were really good as well. This story was enjoyable.

My children (3 and 5) loved this story about Shaina and her found hen. This story has captivating illustrations and an independent young girl standing up for her opinions/beliefs.

The message of honesty gets a bit lost in the toxic positivity - especially when Shaina gets weirdly upset at the end when everything works out in the best possible way. Great illustrations, though.

Honest, kind-hearted Shaina finds the most beautiful hen and discovers that she fell off the truck of Izzy Pippik. Times are hard in the shtetl where she lives with her mother, grandfather and baby brother, but Shaina persuades her family to keep the hen — just until Izzy Pippik returns.

Well, while waiting for Izzy’s return, quite a bit happens with the lovely hen Shaina names Yevka. (The book doesn’t say, but Yevka means “life” in Russian.) Readers won’t want to miss any of Shaina’s adventures with Yevka, as they both bring life to the village!

Here’s a dilemma: Which is more wonderful? Aubrey Davis’ prose, or Marie Lafrance’s illustrations? Thank heaven, I don’t have to decide, as I adored them both!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Kids Can Press in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute picture book about what happens when a chicken is left in a town by accident, and somehow manages to lay fertilized eggs, which hatch and grow.


Shaina finds the hen, and also sees the box that she fell out of with the name of her owners, Izzy Pippik. She decides she is going to protect the hens, until her owner can return.
The chickens, and their chickens take over the town, like the wild chickens of Oahu, Hawaii. They, like in Hawaii, become tourist attractions, and so people come from out of town to see them, and spend money in town. Everyone is happy.
Until Izzy comes back for his hen, and Shaina realizes that she doesn’t want to give the hen back, because she loves her so much. And Izzy sees that, and says that she is hers, and leaves.


This is a cute story, if you can suspend your disbelief and believe that a chicken somehow was still fertilized after traveling from where she came from. Also, the hen is drawn much like a rooster, but I will give that a pass, because roosters are very pretty,and who knows, perhaps there are some hens that look more like rooster.


So, if you over look those two things, and realize it is a story about doing the right thing, then you will enjoy this cute story, and not be as picky as I am.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 7th of May 2o24.

A Hen for Izzy Pippik by Aubrey Davis, Marie Lafrance

A sweet and heart-warming story of a little girl and hen.

Shaina has a good heart. She found a lost hen and decided to keep the hen until the owner returned. I like seeing Shaina to insist to keep the hen, no matter how her mother opposes to the idea. The story starts with people are going to eat the hen and the eggs, then thank to the insistence of Shaina to save the hen, the town is prosperous again!

This storybook has a powerful effect to teach young readers to insist believing what is right and keep doing it!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kids Can Press and the author for my copy.

Pub date: May 7, 2024

Shaina finds a lost chicken and learns Izzy Pippik owns her. Shaina is a good girl who always does the right thing. She insists the chicken and her offspring must be kept for him. This was a delightful story with whimsical drawings. I really enjoyed this story. Highly recommend. I was given a free advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. .

This was so much fun! I loved the strong ethics of the little girl in the story. Sometimes it’s not easy to do the right thing when nobody around you supports you. What a great lesson for kids! The story was told in such an innocent way, it was really perfect. The illustrations were so pretty and colorful. Every page was rich with texture. I loved everything about this book. 5 stars!
Thank you for the eARC!

This little story brought a tear to my eye. Izzy's village is going through a hard time but when she finds someone else's hen, she knows it's her responsibility to care for her. The hen has babies and more babies and the town grows to love them, so when the owner finally comes back the hen and her family belong there. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this. The pictures are gorgeous and the use of color is amazing, this book is a real pleasure.

This tale encourages standing firm in doing what is right no matter the circumstances. I am unfamiliar with the traditional texts this story is inspired by, however, I wonder whether the protagonist was actually right in pushing back against the community. The illustrations effectively reflect each scene.

Thank you NetGalley and Kids Can Press for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.