The brood decided to hatch a plan to get their holiday. To do that, they had to make sure the rooster on the farm didn’t crow, because if he did, they would each automatically lay an egg.
But alas, the rooster was proud of his crowing, meaning the hens had a farmhill battle ahead of them. How would they convince him? Would their plan succeed? Aha, the plot chickens!
Such is the storyline of “A Hen-Made Tale” by 69-year-old theatre practitioner and actor Lim Soon Heng, who told FMT: “I have always wanted to write books for children as it’s just so much fun!”
And fun it is, though one can’t help but detect a feminism theme in this feathered tale: instead of merely resigning themselves to their situation, the hens, who make up the majority of characters, work together to come up with a plan to achieve a common goal.
Lim, who grew up in Taiping, has written and edited for newspapers and magazines, in addition to producing radio programmes. He is also the founder of the KL Shakespeare Players, a local performing arts company that focuses on theatre in education.
He actually began writing the book in 1996, after graduating as an English major from the United States, and, at one point, even converted it into a play.
Lim previously read the story during a children’s festival in Kuala Lumpur in 2005, on top of a separate session with young patients at Hospital Kuala Lumpur during that event. He also used the material for online storytelling with his theatre company in 2020.
“Most people were very taken by the humour of the tale. We all have routines we’d like to escape from. We are beings that work without always knowing why we work.
“While on some level it is a blessing as it keeps you busy, many of us want a day off,” he said of the inspiration behind “Hen-Made” – never mind the fact that it took a pandemic, and the resultant free time spent indoors, for a book about “stepping away from the grind” to happen.
Lim explained that he received a grant from Pelan Jana Semula Ekonomi Negara (Penjana) – a government initiative to support social enterprises and revive the economy in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak – and was finally able to get “A Hen-Made Tale” published by Oyez!Books this year.
But why chickens? “When I was studying in New Zealand, my good friends were sheep farmers who had cattle and chickens. I helped feed the chickens in the mornings, so maybe that influenced me,” he laughed.
And how does he feel about this accomplishment? Eggs-cited! Lim doesn’t see this book as the culmination of this journey of hen-durance; in fact, he hopes to put on a musical stage version of the story someday.
In the meantime, “I hope everyone enjoys and has fun reading it”, he said, pointing out that the watercolour illustrations, in particular, are beautiful.
That they are – the vibrant and colourful creations are by local artist Tang Yeok Khang, 46, who is based in Penang and has over 27 years of experience. The duo got to know each other through a mutual friend, and have already worked on a second project together.
A graduate of the Malaysian Institute of Art, Tang also does interior and landscape design, as well as festival decorations for shopping malls. His work has been collected by the Malaysia National Visual Art Gallery and Petronas Gallery, among others.
Tang, who took more than six months to complete the illustrations for “Hen-Made”, shared with FMT about his creative process, explaining that he started by sketching out a plan of the farm as he imagined it to be.
“I used to take photos of chickens at my friend’s farm for a school project when I was 19, and six years before that, I learnt Chinese painting where I drew roosters. So I am familiar with the subject,” he said.
For the book, Tang used a brand of watercolours called Sakura Koi from Japan, which “has a very high intensity and saturation”.
“Although I am new to this brand, I am really in love with the colours, and I hope readers will enjoy looking at the illustrations,” he added.
As for Lim’s im-peck-able tale? “It’s very interesting because it depicts how humans want to be free. That’s the message that I got after reading it, and it inspired me.
“And it’s also interesting that this happened during the pandemic when everyone was stuck at home!”
Meet Lim and Tang at the launch of ‘A Hen-Made Tale’, 3pm on April 23 (Saturday), at the Museum of Picture Book Art @ GMBB Kuala Lumpur. Registration is required by contacting the Museum of Picture Book Art via Facebook or Instagram, or by sending a WhatsApp message to 012-3320937.
Each book is priced at RM35. Physical copies are available at Gerakbudaya and
Lit Books in Selangor, as well as the Museum of Picture Book Art. Alternatively, purchase a copy online via Oyez!Books here and receive a RM10 discount.
Book launch @ Museum of Picture Book Art
GMBB, No 2, Jalan Robertson,
Bukit Bintang, 50150 Kuala Lumpur