Are You Ready to Hatch an Unusual Chicken?

September 1, 2018
An almost-13-year-old expands her poultry-farming operation in this sequel to Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer (2015).Sophie Brown has just received two new unusual chickens to add to her flock, but that's not all--she's about to receive fertile eggs, so she is putting together an incubator and learning all she can about how to nurture chicken eggs and get them ready to hatch. Resourceful and thoughtful, Sophie documents her entire process--emailing with Hortensia, a chicken vendor; taking detailed notes about her unusual (they casually teleport objects or become invisible) hens; and writing letters to deceased but beloved adults Agnes, Great-Uncle Jim, and Abuelita. School is about to start, and Sophie's excited that her cousin Lupe will be coming to stay as she attends college nearby, but nothing can compare to the hatching of new chicks. Sophie's lower socio-economic status and identity as a brown-skinned, biracial Xicana figure into the plot heavily without reeking of tokenism. (Sophie's mom is Mexican-American; her dad is white.) Readers unfamiliar with the first book should feel caught up after a few dozen pages of this epistolary novel. Jones has married the trappings of traditional magical realism--small towns, quirky people, almost-normal animals--with the angst of being the out-of-place kid in middle school, and it's no gimmick: just good worldbuilding and storytelling. Kath's humorous spot art is a delightful complement.Charming, thoughtful, and clever. (Magical realism. 9-13)

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October 1, 2018

Gr 3- 6-Sophie Brown and her chickens are back in the sequel to Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer and they've got a new challenge. After inheriting Redwood Farm, Sophie is determined to hatch chicks and return the farm back to its former glory. When her new brood arrives, she discovers that one of her chicks may be even more unusual than those she's raising. An inspection from the Unusual Poultry Committee will ultimately decide if Sophie can continue her work on the farm, and she and her friends are determined to pass. Fans of Sophie's first foray into farming will be delighted with the humor, heart, and chicken-hatching tips galore in this charming follow-up. Sophie continues to mature as a determined, relatable middle schooler who experiences the everyday concerns of fitting in at school and learning responsibility, along with raising magical animals. Acknowledgement of Sophie's Mexican American identity and the prejudice she experiences give this book additional depth and nuance. Most heartwarming is the depiction of the loving family and community that surrounds and supports her; it takes a village to raise unusual chickens as well as a 12-year-old girl. VERDICT A funny and relatable realistic fantasy sure to be enjoyed by farm-dwellers, urbanites, and everyone between.-Kelsey Johnson-Kaiser, St. Paul Public Library

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