|
Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer
Last updated Friday, January 27, 2023
Author: Kelly Jones
Illustrator: Katie Kath
Date of Publication: 2015
ISBN: 038575552X
Grade Level: 4th (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Jan. 2023
Synopsis:
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.
| Note to readers: |
| • |
First person narrative told in an epistolary style of letters from the main character to deceased relatives
and a supernatural business owner
|
| • |
Themes include animal husbandry, poverty, job insecurity, and grief
|
| Discussion topics for before reading: |
| • |
How might a chicken coop (housing) be designed?
|
| • |
What genetic traits might be desired for chicken breeds needed on egg (aka Laying) farms?
|
| • |
Is it better to have big eggs but your chickens produce less often, or smaller eggs more eggs overall (yield)?
Vocabulary:
|
| • |
Gizzard (p. 410) - the part of a bird’s stomach in which food is broken up into smaller pieces before being digested
|
| • |
Chortling (p. 503) - to laugh loudly with pleasure
|
| • |
Sufficient (p. 625) - enough; as much as you need
|
| • |
Forage (p. 625) - to search for food (subject is an animal); to search for something (subject is a person)
|
| • |
Mottled (p. 1317) - marked with spots/blotches of different colors
|
| Discussion topics for during/after reading: |
| • |
Can you think of some external conflict from man or other animals that influences chicken farmers to use a roost/coop?
|
| • |
Did Sophie do the right or wrong thing when she visited Ms. Griegson’s farm without her being present?
|
| • |
What are some risks that are assumed when someone decides to break the law but claims it was the right thing to do?
|
| • |
How often do you consider risk over reward when making decisions?
|
| Craft ideas: |
| • |
Make paper guard llamas that mimic the patrolling movement of the ones used to protect Samantha's chickens
|
| • |
Draw your own super chicken. Give it a name. Be sure to describe its super powers and their advantages.
|
| • |
Create a recipe card for migas (or a smoothie) and illustrate the steps
|
| • |
Write a letter to someone younger than you describing how to take care of an animal of your choosing.
|
| • |
Create a diagram labeling the 3 most common parts of the egg (yolk, egg white aka albumin, shell);
next, guess where you think the air cell is located and place a label there (Hint: it's between the shell
and the albumin). Discuss and compare answers for labeling the air cell.
|
*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don't have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!
|
