Cluck Cluck Capers

Big changes bring big challenges.  These challenges can come in the form of living conditions, environment, financial status, loss of friends or family dynamics.  Leaving what is known to venture into the unknown takes a special kind of savvy.

Fitting in as the new person in a small community, regardless of your outlook, is dependent on the personalities of those established residents.  Unusual Chickens For The Exceptional Poultry Farmer (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, May 12, 2015) written by Kelly Jones with illustrations by Katie Kath is a remarkable exploration of a twelve-year old girl's new life.  Told through a series of letters, this story will resonate with readers regardless of their age.



Blackbird Farm
                                                     June 2, 2014
Mr. or Ms. Catalog People
Redwood Farm Supply
Gravenstein, CA 95472

Dear People Who Send Catalogs to People on Farms,
My great-uncle Jim had your flyer in his barn.  I can't ask him about it, because he died a couple of months ago.  But we live on his farm now, and if I have to live on a farm, I think it ought to be an interesting one, with chickens and ducks and maybe some peacocks or something.  Right now, we don't even have tomatoes, just rows and rows of grapevines.  And they don't even have grapes yet. ...

Sophie Brown, her writer mom and out-of-work dad have moved from an apartment in Los Angeles to a big, cluttered-with-junk, rambling farm house complete with a barn and out buildings they have inherited in a small rural town.  On top of adapting to life in the country, they miss the comfort of Sundays spent with relatives, companionship of friends, job security and a steady income.  There are no close neighbors, the mooing of cows sounds like a zoo and Sophie and her mom are the only people with brown skin except for Gregory the mailman, a tall black man.

In an effort to make the best of things Sophie explores the parameter of the farm finding a small wooden house near some blackberry bushes.  She also sets up a small area in the hay loft with a desk and old typewriter she finds.  The next morning a rather cantankerous small white chicken is standing in front of the house giving it and Sophie a slow inspection.  Unknown to Sophie this chicken is quite extraordinary.

Several days have passed and Sophie has still not informed her parents about the presence of the chicken.  She is doing her best to care for the hen on her own.  She does discover the uncanny abilities this chicken has.  Do you know any chickens that can latch and unlatch their hen house door?  Do you know any chickens that can make objects float?  Do you know any chickens that lay glass eggs?

Before you can cluck, cackle or coo, a single incident, an attempted theft actually, sets off a chain reaction of events.  Henrietta, named after a character in The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, is discovered by Sophie's parents, the thief, one Sue Griegson, has been lying, the town librarian Ms. O'Malley sets the record straight, lessons are learned and quizzes are taken, a strange predator is swooping and snooping around, more of great-uncle Jim's unusual chickens return to roost and Sophie meets Chris, a poultry-loving boy her age.  A frightening episode, an otherworldly revelation and an annual exhibition supply a truly memorable conclusion.


As readers move from letter to letter written by Sophie to Redwood Farm Supply, Mariposa Garcia Gonzalez, Sophie's deceased maternal grandmother and Mr. James Brown, her father's uncle, they will become fascinated with the story and characters created by debut author Kelly Jones.  Sophie puts her heart on these pages of correspondence knowing her grandmother and great-uncle will never reply.  She does receive rather cryptic answers from an Agnes at Redwood Farm Supply, contributing to an air of mystery.

In a matter-of-fact, descriptive manner Sophie relates each day's activities.  Conversations are repeated word for word.  We get the full scoop thanks to Sophie's wit, twelve-year-old wisdom and never-ending curiosity.  Her studies of chickens are printed for us to enjoy and learn as she does.  I am confident readers will enjoy the moments of humor found often in the letters, even in the address; Sophie first sending her grandmother a message to Heaven, then A Better Place Than This Farm and Somewhere Gregory can't deliver the mail to.  The letters are an ingenious storytelling technique endearing readers to Sophie, her parents and the cast of supportive characters including the unusual chickens.  Here are several more example passages from this book.

Thank you for considering my request.  I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest opportunity.
(I think Mom must have found me some old letter format, because no one talks like this.  If I did this wrong, it isn't my fault.)

The barn isn't red, like I thought barns were; where it isn't painted, it's just really old brownish-gray wood.  It's kind of neat inside, though.  A ladder goes up to what Mom says is the hayloft.  Don't worry, it isn't falling down or anything.  It's really peaceful, like a library, with a high ceiling and dusty old wood, and it smells like a pumpkin patch.  It makes me think of horses sleeping. 

PS What were you saving all those piles of junk for?
PPS What am I supposed to do with this chicken now?
PPPS Don't come back from the dead to answer, okay?  I'll figure it out somehow. 


The black and white illustrations by Katie Kath heighten the overall charm of this title.  They are placed as a prelude to events.  Her details highlight important moments relative to each letter furthering the humor.  These images draw you even deeper into the story.


If teachers are looking for a fantastic read aloud give them Unusual Chickens For The Exceptional Poultry Farmer written by Kelly Jones with illustrations by Katie Kath.  Hand this book to readers who enjoy realistic fiction with lots of action and an air of the supernatural.  This is 213 pages of pure pleasure which will surely prompt a flurry of future letter writing.  In this age of email, texting and forms of social media, this story clearly shows the value of sharing your thoughts with others through more formal correspondence.  It's not often I stay up into the wee hours of the morning to finish a book but this one will hold you captive.

To learn more about author Kelly Jones and illustrator Katie Kath please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites.

The Write Thing To Do

When it's the first day of a new year, many take time to reflect back on the past 365 days while looking ahead.  Situations are assessed wondering what else might have been said or done.  Two words, if only, sometimes creep into our thinking.  We wonder if only we would have known then what we know now.

Let us suppose for just a minute we might have known then what we know now.  Would this new knowledge have changed anything?  Would it have altered moments or events for the greater good?  Kate Messner's middle grade title, All The Answers (Bloomsbury Children's Books), set to be released on January 27, 2015 replaces "if only with "what if" challenging readers to seriously think about the power of knowing.  

The pencil didn't look magic.

       It looked the opposite of magic.

All twelve-year-old Ava Anderson needed was a pencil to use for Mr. Farkley's math class.  She found it stashed in the family junk drawer in the kitchen.  Neither she, her older brother Marcus, her younger sister Emma, her general store owner Dad, her financial planner Mom nor her father's mother who lives with them have any idea about the power contained in this particular blue pencil.   

It is during her test when a particular formula has vanished from her brain due to jitters, the pencil speaks to her.  All Ava does is doodle a question on her paper.  No one else can hear it.  In fact Ava does not even know the voice is coming from the pencil.  Even after writing down several other questions and hearing replies, she is not making the connection.

Upstairs in her bedroom after school, Ava finally figures out the voice is not some spirit following her around for the day but is actually coming from the pencil.  When she shares this information with her best friend Sophie, Sophie sees huge potential.  Ava sees problems.  It seems the voice has limitations in the responses it provides.  It can only supply facts, not answers depending on the free will of people.

Let's pause here for a minute.  Ava is a first class worry wart.  Sophie is a free spirit.  If an opportunity arises Sophie is immediately ready to jump in with both feet.  Ava, on the other hand, starts listing all the possible problems and wishing for more time to prepare.  Two people, one who doesn't stop to think and the other one who thinks too much, are the best of friends.

For a while Ava and Sophie have fun writing out questions and listening for the results, but carelessness, interpretation and fear threaten their friendship and the balance of life in Ava's family.  Other threads of story are sewn into the fabric of the pencil and it's magic.  Their value is intrinsic to a beautiful whole.   

Ava's Dad is constantly trying to think of a way to maintain his business in light of a larger box store coming to town.  He is looking for that one thing his store will have exclusively.  Ava's Mom and her father, now living in an assisted living facility, Cedar Bay, seem to be at odds with one another ever since Ava's grandmother passed away five years ago.  Her grandfather, Hank, rarely speaks to anyone.  

Ava will need to summon all her courage, to set aside her worries and fears, to realize her full potential.  Knowledge from the pencil will prompt life-altering decisions. Ultimately resolutions rest on the power of love not magic.

Readers of work by Kate Messner are familiar with her masterful skill in character development focusing on the relationships between them.  She places these people in realistic situations which ask them to discover who they are and to be their best possible selves.  Her characters are fully human, wonderfully flawed but compassion is easily felt for them.  Ava's voice in her thoughts and words, as well as those of the other characters, is clearly understood in dialogue which is as full of life as they are.

Giving magic to this pencil in a realistic setting heightens each situation.  As day to day family and school life swirl about Ava, her reliance on it increases but so does her hesitancy to use it.  It is a dilemma propelling the plot forward captivating readers from chapter to chapter.  

Messner has a gift for chapter titles and chapter endings.  A single word or sentence may leave readers wondering or provide an easy connection to what comes next.  Every moment is measured; every moment is tied to another.  Here are some sample passages from the book.

The pencil was bright blue with yellow lettering that spelled out "EverQuest: Innovative Research Solutions."  Ava didn't know what that meant, and she didn't care.  All she cared about was having a pencil for math because if you showed up for Mr. Farkley's class unprepared, he gave you a look that could wilt a giant three-hundred-year old oak tree right down to the ground.
And Ava was nothing like an oak tree.  She was only twelve.  She had skinny arms and spindly legs and wilted easily.

Sophie frowned for a second, then laughed out loud and reached for the pencil. "I'm going to ask it what color underwear Mr. Farkley was wearing today!"

"Sophie, no! That is the grossest question ever!"

But Sophie was already scribbling. She finished, and then she doubled over laughing.

Ava really didn't want to know, but Sophie was laughing so hard she had to ask.  "Okay, what? What did it say?"

Sophie held up her finger and tried to catch her breath.

She played the song from start to finish, without looking away from the music.  She played for Johnny Hodges and for Grandpa and for Mom.  But mostly, she played for herself.  She let the notes carry her, let her fingers ride the keys, let herself be lifted up by her own breath blowing through the horn.

All The Answers written by Kate Messner is an outstanding middle grade title.  This is the age when girls and guys are seeking solutions, defining the people they will be.  This book provides true life situations.  It asks readers to think how they would act or speak if in similar circumstances.  It asks all readers to wonder about what it is we really need to know.

To discover more about Kate Messner and her other books please follow the link embedded in her name to access her website.  Here is a link to a Pinterest board she created for this title. Some of these pins will really get you thinking about the book if you've not read it yet.  Here is the link to a Nerdy Book Club post written by Kate Messner.  She speaks about characters and her books.  Follow this link to read an excerpt from All The Answers. Update: Here is a link to a short blog post where Gilbert Ford talks about illustrating the cover for this book.