about the book
Mr. or Ms. Reading People
Schools and Households, Inc.
The Universe
Dear People Who Want to Read Tales of Extraordinary Happenings,
When my great-uncle Jim died, he left my family Blackbird Farm. I’ve never lived on a farm before, and if I had to leave Los Angeles, I figured I’d make it a farm filled with chickens, ducks, and maybe even some peacocks. The empty grapevines waiting for us were not interesting.
There was a flyer advertising Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer left in the barn. (For the record, I have no idea why the barn isn’t red. It should be). So I wrote to the advertisers—unidentified Mr. and Ms. Catalog People—asking for a catalog of their unusual chickens.
I didn’t expect to get a chicken capable of moving objects with her tiny chicken brain. She moves jam jars, the latch to her henhouse, and even the entire henhouse. If that’s not an extraordinary happening, I don’t know what is. And this is only one of my chickens!
Unfortunately, my neighbor wants to steal them away from me. I cannot let that happen.
Sincerely,
Sophia Brown
about the author
Other than her name, Kelly Jones is unique. Spies, sewing, magic, friendly ghosts, and chickens are a few of her interests.
Kelly’s debut novel, Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, certainly reflects her fascination with a couple of those items. Here’s how it came about: Kelly bought her own chickens. That’s basically it. They fascinated her so much that she was telling the entire neighborhood every time they laid an egg! It was like they had superpowers! Wait! Hold on a second. What if they actually did have superpowers? Who would take care of them? And that’s when the character Sophie came to mind, along with a whole flock of superchickens.
Her favorite thing to make with the eggs her chickens lay is chili-chocolate chunk cookies.
When Kelly isn’t writing, the former children’s librarian runs her own industrial jewelry business. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: The Sweet Sixteens
Author interview: American Booksellers Association
Book trailer: Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer
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