- Picture Books
- Ages 4–8
- Animals
Sonya's Chickens
A tender, beautifully illustrated story about caring for animals and facing the loss of one of them. A strong but sensitive choice for children learning about responsibility, nature and grief.
- Best for4–8
- FormatPicture
- Length32 pp
- Read aloud~6 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Literary
- Conversational
Tone
- Warm
- Gentle
- Bittersweet
- Heartwarming
- Cosy
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Sonya is given three baby chicks and takes her role as their carer very seriously. She feeds them, protects them, watches them grow and loves them deeply. When one of the chickens is taken by a fox, Sonya is heartbroken and has to understand that care, love and loss are all part of the natural world. Phoebe Wahl's warm, folk-art-style illustrations make the farm and family setting feel safe and intimate, while the story gives young children a clear emotional path through responsibility and grief. The book is not frightening in its presentation, but the loss is real, and it may matter a lot to sensitive children or children with pets. It is a valuable parent-facing recommendation: beautiful, emotionally honest and useful for talking about animal care, death and the complexity of nature.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
- 3
- 5
- 7
- 9
- 11
- 13
- Best fit · 4–8
- Read aloud · 4–8
- Independent · 6–9
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Workable
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: death of pet, grief, animal harm.
Bedtime suitability
3 / 5 · Workable
Sensitive-child
3 / 5 · Mostly fine
Graphic intensity
3 / 5 · Some
Best for
- Animal care
- Pet loss
- Farm life
- Beautiful illustrations
- Gentle grief
Avoid if
- Recent pet loss too raw
- Very sensitive to animal death
- Wants light bedtime only
Particularly good for children who are…
- Pet death
- Bereavement
- Anxiety and worry
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A tender read-aloud about a girl, her hens and the circle of life — a gentle, honest prompt for talk about caring for animals and loss.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific weight is the fox taking one — Sonya taking her three baby chicks seriously, feeding and protecting and loving them, one taken by a fox and Sonya having to learn that care and loss are both part of the natural world. The Wahl picture book on grief without flinching.
- Animal companions
- Family belonging
- Making a difference
Why parents love it
The Phoebe Wahl picture book — warm folk-art illustration making the family setting safe, predator-and-prey and pet-loss handled honestly without becoming frightening. Valuable parent-facing recommendation for the responsibility / nature / grief conversation.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Conversation starter
- Bedtime appropriate
- Indie gem discovery
About the author & illustrator
Phoebe Wahl.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
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- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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