Just Plain Fancy
-
- £2.99
-
- £2.99
Publisher Description
A charming picture book set in an Amish community, by the beloved storyteller Patricia Polacco.
Naomi lives with her farming family in an Amish village in Pennsylvania. As part of her household chores, Naomi looks after the chickens with her little sister, Ruth.
One day Naomi and Ruth find an abandoned egg near the road. Naomi decides this special egg must be hatched. And when it is, it's plain to see that this is no ordinary chick!
The girls keep the chick, named Fancy, a secret . . . until the day of their family's community working bee. On this day, Naomi is to receive a white organdy cap, an Amish tradition, as a reward for her hard work and responsibility. But on this day, too, Fancy the chick decides to introduce himself to the community!
The results are a sheer delight, pure and simple. Accompanied by Patricia Polacco's beautiful artwork, this story of discovery and growing up will stay in the hearts of all who turn its pages.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Naomi and Ruth are sisters who live on a farm in Pennyslvania's Amish country, where people take pride in their uncomplicated lives. But Naomi complains that everything in her life--from her clothes to her chickens--is plain. The girl longs for ``something fancy.'' When she and Ruth find an unusual egg by the side of the road, they place it in their hen's nest, hoping it will hatch. It does, and the bird that emerges is obviously not a garden-variety chick. The sisters name it ``Fancy,'' and keep its existence a secret from the grownups, who they fear will shun it. On the day the elders of the community have gathered for a working bee, Fancy breaks out of the henhouse and spreads its feathers in front of the group. By this time perceptive young readers will have gathered that Fancy is a peacock--and Polacco's pictures reveal it to be a magnificent one at that. Naomi is praised for raising such a beautiful bird, and learns that some kinds of ``fancy'' are acceptable. Polacco's warm story and sensitive illustrations offer a fresh, balanced perspective on Amish life. Ages 4-8.
