Add this little red hen printable book to your collection of kindergarten and preschool printable books. It’s the perfect extension of a favorite book, giving the kids a chance to retell the story in a simple and engaging way.
The emergent reader would be great in the fall, as part of your other little red hen activities, or any time you read the book with your students. And there are two versions of the book, so you can pick the one that best suits your students. One contains fully printable text, while the other leaves some room for the children to write.

Related: Free Preschool Printables
Be sure to get your own copy of the little red hen story printable at the bottom of this post. The printable includes both copies of the book mentioned above.
Little Red Hen Printable Book
Depending on the needs of your students, this little red hen printable can be used during small groups or you can place copies in your writing center.

Either way, read below for some prepping tips and ideas for using the book with your kids.
How to Prep the Little Red Hen Story Printable
First, gather any supplies you need to prepare the book. It really doesn’t take much! Here’s what I generally use (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
And that’s really about it! Pull together any other materials you need, such as:
- Crayons
- Markers
- Laminator
- Pencils
And then it’s time to prep the little red hen printable book. Here’s what you do:
- First, get the printable at the bottom of this post. Save it to your computer.
- Open the file in the most up-to-date version of Adobe Reader.
- Next, decide which version of the version you want to use, and print as many copies as you need.
- Fold the pages in half, with the text and images facing out.
- Arrange the pages, keeping the folded edges on the right.
- Finally, staples along the left.
Here’s a short video that shows the process:
Of course, you can always cut each page in half, arrange the pages, and staple everything. I just prefer to print, fold, and staple when making books like this one.
Using the Little Red Hen Printable Book with Kids
Once you have the little red hen emergent reader all prepped, it’s time to call the kids over. I love making books with the kids during small groups, but you can do what works best for you and your students.
Explain to the children that they’ll get to make their very own little red hen readers. Depending on which version of the book you choose, the kids get to be illustrators or authors AND illustrators.

Talk a short “walk” through the book with your students. Point out the characters from the little red hen story, as well as any high frequency words of note. Model pointing to the words and reading aloud on each page if possible.
Then work with your students to complete the little red hen printable book. If you’re using the one that has all the text typed out, have your students color in each of the pages. If you’re using the version that allows for some writing, assist the children as they write “Not I!” in the speech bubbles.

This might take a day or two to complete. It just depends on how many students you have, their ages, and their needs. Some children will love making the reader, while others might not be super interested. And that’s okay! Take your cues from them and adjust accordingly.
Once the books are done, be sure to keep them in the classroom for a little while. That way, the children can reread the books with you, with their peers, and on their own.
Other Ideas for the Little Red Hen Printable
While the little red hen printable book is pretty straightforward to use, you can change things up a little bit if you want. Here are a few ideas for you if that’s the case:
- Cut apart the pages in the version that leaves room to write in speech bubbles. Laminate those pages and place them in your literacy center, along with dry erase markers. Your students can work on writing “Not I!” in the speech bubbles. Be sure to write an example for them to reference as needed.
- Turn the book into a pocket chart activity. Write the words on sentence strips and place those in a pocket chart. Cut out the illustrations, color them, and laminate the images. Place the images next to their corresponding words in the chart. Let the kids use pointers to point and read the words together.
- For students who are phonetically writing, let them make up their own little red hen stories! Place the images from the book out in your writing center, along with blank paper, glue, and pencils. Have the kids glue the images to paper and write their own stories. Help them staple the pages together to make their very own books.
How will you incorporate the little red hen printable book into your classroom? Don’t forget to get your own copy at the bottom of the post.
More Little Red Hen Activities
I’ve got even more activities that are great after you read The Little Red Hen with your students:
- Little Red Hen Sensory Retelling
- Sentence Building with the Little Red Hen
- Little Red Hen Sensory Bin
- Shape Little Red Hen Craft
- Little Red Hen Small World
- Interactive Little Red Hen Bulletin Board
Those would be great when paired with the little red hen printable book!
Little Red Hen Lesson Plans
Preschool Teacher 101 can save you so much time with done-for-you, fully-developed early childhood resources! We have hundreds of lesson plans, dramatic play packs, STEM challenges, math and literacy lessons, and so much more. Members of our membership site, The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101, get access to our materials at an even steeper discount.
Click on the image below to get our Little Red Hen Lesson Plans from the shop. The lesson plan pack comes with a weekly overview, detailed daily plans, book suggestions, and related printables.
You can also find us on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Get the Little Red Hen Printable Book
The little red hen emergent reader is available to members of Fun-A-Day’s (free!) email community. If that’s you, enter your email in the form below. You’ll receive the download link via your inbox! If you’re not a member yet, you can join us by adding your information to the same form. And then you’ll receive the little red hen printable book as a welcome gift.
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