unusual chickens for the exceptional poultry farmer

Amid Sophie's entertaining attempts to secure the chickens (and keep them safe from a dodgy neighbor), Jones sensitively captures the preteen's feelings of isolation, her growing awareness of racial issues that affect her ('Mom. Kath's wiry and playful b&w illustrations carry hints of George Booth's work and add substantial humor to the story (dyspeptic chicken Henrietta is especially memorable).

Also in the mix are Sophie's letters to the owner of Redwood Farm Supply, whose advice Sophie seeks as she discovers some of her great-uncle's far-from-normal chickens on the property (one appears to have telekinetic powers, for starters). This book is a 2016 Mathical Honor book, a prize which honors books that may inspire young mathematicians.Jones debuts with a comically poignant story composed of the letters that 12-year-old Sophie Brown writes to a pair of deceased relatives: her much-missed Abuelita and her great-uncle Jim, whose California farm Sophie has just moved to with her parents. I don’t know how it will go over in New York City or Philadelphia! It’s a totally lovable children’s book, good for middle-school, with a very likable heroine, who is trying her best to learn all about chickens, one chicken at a time.įor rural communities, this children’s book will be a hit. Overall, the book is just a good, light-weight, funny read. So how can I not love this children’s book? I certainly will recommend it to our school, since we have chickens at the school that the students care for. The zip code on the fictitious Animal Feed store is my zip code! And my town, and my school’s town (Petaluma) are known for raising chickens. To be honest, what immediately captured me was that it was practically set in my town.

While the mix at sometimes is a little clumsy, over all it keeps the book from ever becoming dull, or totally superficial. This children’s book has a little bit of everything…multi-racial issues that a Mexican-American girl has to deal with chickens and everything you might want to know about raising them mystery – who is stealing the chickens and friendship… just to name a few. But if I’m going to live on a farm, I guess I might as well be a farmer…” “Mom says she has no intention of ever being a farmer, even though she knows how to drive a tractor and prune grapes.

Unusual chickens for the exceptional poultry farmer