View source for Peck, Hen, Peck! and Ben's Pet (Early Reader) by Jill Atkins and Barbara Vagnozzi

{{infobox2
|title=Peck, Hen, Peck! and Ben's Pet (Early Reader) 
|author=Jill Atkins and Barbara Vagnozzi
|reviewer=Ruth Ng
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A first level early reader with very sweet pictures including an escaping chicken!
|rating=4
|buy=yes
|borrow=yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Maverick Arts Publishing
|date=May 2017
|isbn=9781848862487
|website=
|video=
|aznuk=1848862482
|aznus=1848862482
|cover=1848862482
}}
It probably sounds obvious, but you really shouldn't keep your pet chickens in a bag!  Well, that's what I learned from this book which tells us first the story of Tom who puts his hen in a bag.  The hen pecks through the bag, as hens are wont to do, and escapes!  A simple and somewhat tragic tale!  This is swiftly followed by a story about Ben's pet.  Will it be another hen, I wondered?  No, actually, after several incorrect guesses, we discover that Ben's pet is only a rabbit!

The Maverick Early Reader series has been created to bring the fun of bedtime stories into the classroom, easing a child's transition from being a listener to being a reader. The format of the books makes them a smaller, thinner picture book, more like a normal paperback size.  They're easy to hold with good, clear fonts.  The books follow the Institute of Education's banding system, and the difficulty of each book takes into account aspects such as content, language style, the book's layout and phonics.  There is a chart included at the back of the books to show the different levels.  Children do learn to read at different speeds, but there is also some indication given of expected ages.  The books also have helpful introductions to certain letters, notes about high frequency words and other words to familiarise yourself with as well as reading tips and fun questions to ask your child as they read.

This particular title is from the first level of the series, a pink band book, and it is indeed very simply written, with lots of repetition and words that you can easily sound out phonetically.  My five year old boy and I have recently been enjoying several of the books in this series.  He is at the end of his Reception Year, so actually he found this book very easy.  Still, there is something comforting, sometimes, in reading a book where you don't have to think too hard!  I found the story side of things rather dull, but I did enjoy the pictures!  I like the poor hen who gets put in the bag.  I also really like the sunbathing dog in the story about Ben's pet.  He looks so relaxed, laid out in the sunshine with his sunglasses on!

Although I didn't think this was the best book that I've seen in this series (a little dull for us!) it is still an excellent early reader, easy to read and so that encourages readers taking their first steps with stories of their own, and the illustrations are a delight!

Further reading suggestion: You might also like to take a look at [[Too Many Hats (My First Reader) by Hilda Offen]] and [[Yuck! Said the Yak (Early Reader) by Alex English and Emma Levey]].

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[[Category:Emerging Readers]]
[[Category:Jill Atkins]]
[[Category:Barbara Vagnozzi]]