Growing up, we had a number of interesting events in New Hamburg, Ontario, most notably the Fall Fair and the Mennonite Relief Sale. One year, maybe it was two years, the town held an Eggstravaganza, celebrating all things poultry. We had an egg factory in town and a turkey farm just outside town. No one I knew raised backyard chickens, though.
I have several friends here in Portland that have chickens in their backyards. Occasionally, I am the recipient of their eggstraordinary bounty. They usually have white schools, but I’ve received gifts of fresh chicken eggs in a variety of hues.
The difference between fresh and store-bought eggs in flavor and yolk color cannot be overstated. Fresh eggs are more infinitely more flavorful. Their yolks are a vibrant orange, compared to the pale yellow of a store-bought egg.
Budding chicken farmers and elementary aged readers will love Kelly Jones’ Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer.
Publisher’s Summary: Twelve-year-old Sophie Brown feels like a fish out of water when she and her parents move from Los Angeles to the farm they’ve inherited from a great-uncle. But farm life gets more interesting when a cranky chicken appears and Sophie discovers the hen can move objects with the power of her little chicken brain: jam jars, the latch to her henhouse, the entire henhouse….
And then more of her great-uncle’s unusual chickens come home to roost. Determined, resourceful Sophie learns to care for her flock, earning money for chicken feed, collecting eggs. But when a respected local farmer tries to steal them, Sophie must find a way to keep them (and their superpowers) safe.
Told in letters to Sophie’s abuela, quizzes, a chicken-care correspondence course, to-do lists, and more, Unusual Chickens is a quirky, clucky classic in the making.
I loved this book! It reminded me a little of The Worm Whisperer by Betty Hicks,which was one of my favorite 4th grade read alouds, and The Adventures of a South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz.
If you have a 3rd, 4th or 5th grade reader, you might encourage them to pick up any of these three books.
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