“That’s all there is to it. We look different, so we don’t understand each other’s inner thoughts, but we cherish each other in our own way.”

-Sun-mi Hwang

Sometimes a book feels like a warm hug, even when there’s struggle and grief and all manner of the human experience within.

And yes, I do say the human experience, even though the humans in this novella are bit characters at best. Hwang gives the various animals in the story very human characterizations while still keeping them true to their wild behaviors and interpretations of the world.

The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly is less a story about the titular hen’s dreams for herself, and more about how she finds herself as a mother and through her dreams for her child. It’s an adoption story, and as Sprout (the hen) raises a child that’s not her own, her love for him enhances and changes how she views herself and others around her.

The language is simple and beautiful, sad and loving and tender and hopeful all at once. It’s a short read, wonderfully illustrated, and will sit with you after like a warm cup of tea.