Editorial Content for Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

Twelve-year-old Sophie Brown’s family just moved from Los Angeles to her Great Uncle Jim’s farm, and at first, she’s beyond bored.  Her mother is busy trying to support the family by writing magazine articles, her father is desperately trying to find a job and fix things around the farm and Sophie is pretty much left on her own. 

She decides she will write letters to her Uncle Jim and to her dear departed grandmother, Mariposa Garcia Gonzalez. Her letters are sent to Heaven for her grandmother and while she’s not sure where Uncle Jim is, she assures him that he doesn’t have to come back from the dead to answer her questions. Soon, the mailman, Gregory, becomes one of her best friends.

Totally delightful from beginning to end, Kelly Jones has written a real treasure of a book.

She also starts writing to a place called Blackbird Farm in California. She finds an old flyer Uncle Jim had saved and decides that’s where he must have gotten his seeds and other supplies. The people at Blackbird Farm don’t answer her for a long time, but, finally, she gets a letter from a lady named Agnes, who turns out to be quite mysterious.

One day, while Sophie is exploring outside, she finds a lone white chicken scratching around. She names it Henrietta and very soon discovers that it has special powers. Agnes warns her she must never give this chicken away or let anyone take it, but it seems that someone is after it.  Now why would someone want to steal her extraordinary Henrietta?

Totally delightful from beginning to end, Kelly Jones has written a real treasure of a book. Sophie is a resourceful, trusting, smart and brave little girl. It would be wonderful to read more about her and her unusual chickens in another book. Artist Katie Kath’s ink and wash drawings are perfect renderings of the characters, the chickens and Sophie’s crazy adventures. Is this book perfect for middle school readers? Yes! But this is also a book young adults would love. Get yourselves ready for a fantastical time with Sophie and her unusual chickens!