You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
This chicken-loving family loved this book. The book is set up as letters detailing Sophie’s finding and learning about raising her deceased great uncle’s chickens. The illustrations were fun as well as the chicken breed and raising information presented in the book. We are excited to read the second book.
A delightful story about a 12 year old girl Sophie who moves from the city to a farm and finds herself in possession of unusual chickens. The story is told in a series of letters. Some are to her grandma who is deceased. Some are to her great uncle Jim who left them the farm and some are to a business that are experts in unusual chickens. Sophie has a great sense of humor, a great work ethic and is sometimes painfully aware of how she is treated because of the color of her skin. I loved the process of her learning more about the unusual chickens and their powers. I like that it straddles realistic fiction with a tiny bit of science fiction. Cute illustrations make the story come alive even more. 4th grade and up.
I can't remember the last time I saw Daniel Pinkwater blurb a book. Of course, this one is not only about chickens (a special interest for Pinkwater) - it even name checks Pinkwater and his 1977 classic, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency. That has to be flattering. Still, Pinkwater is such a grouchy old coot that I have to believe he wouldn't praise a book unless he meant it. Of Unusual Chickens, he wrote, "Someone has finally written a real honest-to-goodness novel with chickens! This news will excite people who like novels, people who like chickens...and chickens. It is an unusual book!"
That it is. Sort of. On one level, the plot is a familiar one: a city girl moves to the country and struggles to fit in and make friends. In this case, the city girl, Sophie, and her mother are two of the only "brown people" in town (they are Latina), which only increases her feelings of alienation. They've moved out of the city because Sophie's newly unemployed father has inherited a farm from his uncle, and along with it, several "unusual" chickens.
That's where the other side of the story comes in. The chickens are not unusual in the "Martha Stewart, tiny-pastel-egg-laying" sense, but more in the "turn raccoons into stone and levitate the chicken coop" sense. Clearly, their care calls for an exceptional poultry farmer. Sophie's quest to become that farmer parallels her inner journey as she adjusts to her new surroundings. Of course, since we are dealing with supernatural chickens, there are many absurd and comedic stops along the way.
First-time novelist Kelly Jones tells Sophie's story mostly through letters to her deceased grandmother, her great-uncle, and Agnes, the farmer who originally sold the unusual chickens. This farmer occasionally writes back, in letters whose erratic spelling and punctuation she blames on a malfunctioning typewriter (this may be a ruse - the unraveling of Agnes's mystery provides one of the more entertaining threads of this tale). The candid first-person narraton allows Sophie's practical, wry, tween voice to shine through, and it is an appealing and authentic voice. There's a nice balance between supernatural comedy and real world concerns, and Katie Kath's line drawings play up the humor.
Unusual Chickens is a small gem of a book, written with a light touch and a sensitive heart. I'll be surprised if it doesn't show up on the Notable Books list, though it's probably a long shot for the Newbery.
That it is. Sort of. On one level, the plot is a familiar one: a city girl moves to the country and struggles to fit in and make friends. In this case, the city girl, Sophie, and her mother are two of the only "brown people" in town (they are Latina), which only increases her feelings of alienation. They've moved out of the city because Sophie's newly unemployed father has inherited a farm from his uncle, and along with it, several "unusual" chickens.
That's where the other side of the story comes in. The chickens are not unusual in the "Martha Stewart, tiny-pastel-egg-laying" sense, but more in the "turn raccoons into stone and levitate the chicken coop" sense. Clearly, their care calls for an exceptional poultry farmer. Sophie's quest to become that farmer parallels her inner journey as she adjusts to her new surroundings. Of course, since we are dealing with supernatural chickens, there are many absurd and comedic stops along the way.
First-time novelist Kelly Jones tells Sophie's story mostly through letters to her deceased grandmother, her great-uncle, and Agnes, the farmer who originally sold the unusual chickens. This farmer occasionally writes back, in letters whose erratic spelling and punctuation she blames on a malfunctioning typewriter (this may be a ruse - the unraveling of Agnes's mystery provides one of the more entertaining threads of this tale). The candid first-person narraton allows Sophie's practical, wry, tween voice to shine through, and it is an appealing and authentic voice. There's a nice balance between supernatural comedy and real world concerns, and Katie Kath's line drawings play up the humor.
Unusual Chickens is a small gem of a book, written with a light touch and a sensitive heart. I'll be surprised if it doesn't show up on the Notable Books list, though it's probably a long shot for the Newbery.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't keep track of all the books the kids read, because there are way too many. However, this one was awesome, so we had to mark it down! We picked it out because of the chickens, but it was a hilarious and interesting book. Matthew didn't want to read it, but once I started he got sucked right in. Even Douglas couldn't miss any. They particularly liked the quizzes in the lessons.
I don't have any excuse for why it took me forever to sit down and read this book since I once I started, it was a quick read. Super cute and really funny while still touching on important issues and topics (loss of job, racism, thievery). But really, the angry chicken drawings are too good to pass up - that she has special Jedi powers is just an added bonus. I love epistolary novels, so the form/structure worked for me too. ALSO, now I feel like I know shit about raising chickens, so...EDUCATION!!!
I really only picked this up because I couldn't face another tough read & my 10yo thought I would enjoy this. He was not wrong. I snorted and giggled and generally fell in love with Sophie and her chickens. I liked the epistolary style and the gentle way that Jones allows Sophie to get used to her new home in the country. The mini-Agnes mystery is fun & the way Sophie's Latinx background is simply part of her life is effective - noticeable but not defining. And, oh, Henrietta. I think I like the whole book better simply because Henrietta exists. Going to pass this one on to plenty of middle schoolers.
It took me awhile to really get into the story but by the end it had me. I loved the mix of fact with fantasy. And I'm really thinking about getting some chickens but only if they're magical.