A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A goose and a polar bear make up a friendship comprised of opposites.

	Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: An escaped housecat encounters twelve birds in the back yard but fails to catch any of them and has to eat feathers for lunch.

Flannel Board

	Owl Babies by Martin Waddell Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis:Three owl babies whose mother has gone out in the night try to stay calm while she is gone. Note: Artfelt has an Owl Babies felt puppet set.

	Baby Bird by Joyce Dunbar Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A bird falls out of his nest while trying to fly and has encounters with several animals before he finds success.

Song

A Mother for Choco by Keiko Kasza Age Level: Toddler and up

Synopsis: Choco wishes he had a mother, but who could she be? He sets off to find her, asking all kinds of animals, but he doesn't meet anyone who looks just like him. He doesn't even think of asking Mrs. Bear if she's his mother-but then she starts to do just the things a mommy might do. And when she brings him home, he meets her other children-a piglet, a hippo, and an alligator-and learns that families can come in all shapes and sizes and still fit together.

Song

	Brave Bear by Kathy Mallat Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A bear bravely goes out on a limb to help a baby bird get back to its nest.

Films

The Most Wonderful Egg in the World by Helme Heine Age Level: K-1 Running Time: 6 minutes

Synopsis: This story is about three hens who are quarreling because each feels that she is more beautiful than the other two. When they cannot solve their problem, they approach the king and ask him to determine which of them is the most beautiful. The king responds by saying that it is what they do that is more important, not how they look. He says that he will make the hen that lays the most perfect egg the princess. The three hens each lay unique eggs which are perfect in their own ways. The story ends with the king deciding to make each a princess, and all live happily ever after as friends.

	The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
Synopsis: Classic fairy tales of ugly duckling that grows into a beautiful swan.

	Chicken Little by Steven Kellogg Age Level: K-2 Running Time: 9 Minutes
Synopsis: When an acorn falls on her head, Chicken Little convinces herself and her bird-brained friends that the sky is falling. A hungry fox hears their cries for help and almost gets away with impersonating a police officer before his goose is cooked.

	Cat and Canary by Michael Foreman Age Level: PreK-2
Synopsis: A city cat who lives out his fantasy of being able to fly finds that staying on the ground isn't so bad after all.

More Books to Read On Your Own

Are You My Mother?
by P. D. Eastman
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Are You My Mother? follows a confused baby bird who's been denied the experience of imprinting as he asks cows, planes, and steam shovels the Big Question. In the end he is happily reunited with his maternal parent in a glorious moment of recognition.

Rooster's Off To See the World
by Eric Carle
Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis:A simple introduction to the meaning of numbers and sets as a rooster, on his way to see the world, is joined by fourteen animals along the way.
Note: Artfelt has a Rooster's Off To See the World felt puppet set.

The Little Red Hen
by Paul Galdone
Age Level: Toddler and up
Synopsis: A story of a hen who makes her home with a very lazy cat, dog and mouse. When the hardworking hen discovers grains of wheat in the garden, she asks her housemates to help her plant and tend the wheat.
Note: This story adapts well into a flannelboard using the four animal characters. Artfelt has a wonderful Little Red Hen set or a much more complicated set is available from Little Folk Visuals.

The Chick and the Duckling
by Mirra Ginsburg
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis:
Note: Artfelt has a The Chick and the Duckling felt puppet set.

Minerva Louise
by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A hen has fun exploring the house with the red curtains.

Round Robin
by Jack Kent
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: A robin who has eaten until he looks more like a ball than a bird finds when Fall comes that he can only walk south while the other robins fly.

Little Bird
by Saviour Pirotta
Age Level: Preschool and up
Synopsis: Several animals describe their favorite activities to a little bird that asks, "What can I do today?"

More Songs for at Home

Be Kind to Your Web Footed Friends

Be kind to your web-footed friends,
For a duck may be somebody's mother,
Be kind to your friends in the swamp
Where the weather is always damp,
You may think that this is the end.
Well, it is!

Little Birdie

Came a birdie a-flying,
On my shoulder did land,
In his beak was a letter,
Which he dropped in my hand.

Little birdie sat waiting,
While the letter I read,
Then I wrote down an answer;
To the birdie, I said:

Little birdie, fly back now,
Take this letter to Fred,
Tell him I've got the measles
So I must stay in bed!

Zippity Do Dah

REFRAIN
Zippity do dah, Zippity eah.
My oh my what a wonderful day.
Plenty of sunshine heading my way.
Zippity do dah, zippity eah.

Mr. Bluebird's on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actual
Everthing is satisfactual.

Higgilty Piggilty

Higgilty Piggilty, my black hen!
She lays eggs for gentlemen.
Sometimes nine and sometimes ten,
Higgilty Piggilty, my black hen!

Sing a Song of Sixpence

FORMATION:
Divide children into two sets of equal numbers.
Have one set join hands and form a circle, the others in the center of the ring, in crouching position.

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
[Children in circle skip to the left while singing.]

Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie!
[Children in circle skip to the right,
then stretch arms up toward center to form the pie.]

When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
[Children in circle bring arms back down
to waist level, then children in center of ring
begin to 'chirp' and 'tweet'.]

Wasn't that a dainty dish
To set before the king?
[Children in circle skip to the left;
children in center flutter about like birds.]

The king was in his counting house,
Counting all the money;
[Children in circle walk backward
four steps then pretend to count money;
children in center keep fluttering like birds.]

The queen was in the parlor,
Eating bread with honey
[Children in circle walk forward
four steps, kneel and pretend to eat;
children in center keep fluttering like birds.]

The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes;
[Children in circle pretend to pick up clothes,
then turn outward and hang them up.]

Little Bird

I saw a little bird go hop, hop, hop.
I told the little bird to stop, stop, stop.
I went to the window to say 'How do you do?'
He wagged his little tail and far away he flew!

Little Robin Red Breast

Little robin red breast,
stay upon a rail
[Hold up thumb and pinky, and curl down rest of fingers.]
Niddle, noodle went his head
[Wiggle thumb for head.]
Wibble, wobble went his tail
[Wiggle pinky for tail.]

Five Hungry Chickens

Said the first little chicken
With a queer little squirm,
"I wish I could find
A fat little worm"
Said the next little chicken
With an odd little shrug,
"I wish I could find
A fat little slug."
Said the third little chicken,
With a sharp little squeal
"I wish I could find
Some nice yellow meal."
Said the fourth little chicken,
With a small sigh of grief,
"I wish I could find
A little green leaf."
Said the fifth little chicken,
With a faint little moan,
I wish I could find
A wee gravel stone."
"Now see here," said the mother,
From the green garden patch,
"If you want any breakfast
Just come here and scratch."