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A review by lakesidegirl
Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones
4.0
What makes a chicken unusual? As chickens with apparent superpowers appear on the farm her family has inherited, Sophie Brown begins wondering just how these chickens became so unusual. With her parents distracted by their move to the farm, her father’s recent job loss, and her mother’s freelance writing career, Sophie focuses on learning to care for her new charges. The mystery of the chickens deepens, though, when a neighbor attempts to steal Sophie’s unusual pets.
Sophie tells her story through (mostly) one-sided correspondence to a chicken supply company and two late relatives, including her abuelita and Great-Uncle Jim, previous owner of the farm. Through her letters to these people who may or may not respond to her, Sophie explores her grief over the loss of her grandmother, her struggles moving to a new place, the difficulty of being one of the few “brown people” in her new town, and her discovery of the true nature of her unusual chickens. Young readers, particularly those from third to fifth grade, will enjoy this book as an introduction to the genre of epistolary novel while also becoming intrigued by the prospect of raising chickens. With heartfelt letters, detailed full-page descriptions of different chicken breeds, chicken care correspondence lessons, charming black-and-white illustrations, and even a little mystery, Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer is a delightful and informative novel for a young reader.
Sophie tells her story through (mostly) one-sided correspondence to a chicken supply company and two late relatives, including her abuelita and Great-Uncle Jim, previous owner of the farm. Through her letters to these people who may or may not respond to her, Sophie explores her grief over the loss of her grandmother, her struggles moving to a new place, the difficulty of being one of the few “brown people” in her new town, and her discovery of the true nature of her unusual chickens. Young readers, particularly those from third to fifth grade, will enjoy this book as an introduction to the genre of epistolary novel while also becoming intrigued by the prospect of raising chickens. With heartfelt letters, detailed full-page descriptions of different chicken breeds, chicken care correspondence lessons, charming black-and-white illustrations, and even a little mystery, Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer is a delightful and informative novel for a young reader.