Tag Archives: Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

Apr 16 2015

Book Review: Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones

22639675By Cindy L. Rodriguez

DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK: 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.

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer releases May 12 with Knopf Books for Young Readers.

MY TWO CENTS: It’s easy to love Sophie, the half-Latina main character in this middle grade novel that upgrades the “new girl in town” idea by adding cool, magical chickens and letters from the beyond. Sophie and her parents move from Los Angeles to a farm, left to them by her late Great-Uncle Jim. The farm, though, is “more like a big, boring garden. Dead-looking grapevines and blackbirds and junk piles and bugs, that’s it.” Sophie’s family is trying to start over after her dad lost his job.

In the novel, author Kelly Jones addresses issues such as unemployment, racism, and classism, but never in a heavy-handed way. Through her letters to her abuela, Uncle Jim, and Agnes from Redwood Farm Supply, Sophie talks about her family’s financial problems and the small town’s lack of diversity. “There aren’t any people around here–especially no brown people.” In another chapter, Sophie writes, “even though Mom was born here and speaks perfect English, she says you have to be twice as honest and neighborly when everyone assumes you’re an undocumented immigrant.” These moments, though, are not preachy. Instead, they are presented as things Sophie observes or wonders about as she navigates her bicultural reality and being the new girl–a city girl transplanted to a weed-choked farm with magical chickens.

And, for the record, the chickens are awesome. My favorite is the angry, telekinetic chicken. He’s so cute somehow even though he’s got the “if looks could kill” face all the time. Being responsible for the chickens helps Sophie to settle in and connect with her new surroundings. Caring for the chickens, and working hard to keep them safe from a thief, allows Sophie to develop her confidence.

What I really love about Sophie is that she’s a strong girl, but she’s also a quiet girl who isn’t afraid to admit when she’s sad or lonely. Being strong doesn’t always mean wielding weapons; sometimes it means going after a chicken thief or speaking in front of a crowd, even though it scares you. I think lots of middle grade readers will love this novel, which also has great illustrations, information about chickens throughout, and even a recipe for migas!

TEACHING TIPS: Language arts teachers could easily include this novel in a thematic literature circles unit with other stories about moving to new places, whether it’s to a new town or a new country.

Since Sophie writes letters throughout the novel, students could write and send personal letters to friends or family and formal business letters to local companies. In this electronic age, writing, sending, and receiving letters could be a fun activity for this generation of students, who may have seldom done this, if at all.

Asking a local farmer to visit the classroom, or taking students on a field trip, would be a wonderful experiential activity, especially for city students (like Sophie) who may have never visited a farm.

A classroom fiesta, complete with lots of eggs-based dishes and migas, using the recipe in the book, would be a wonderful and tasty way to end a unit.

Kelly JonesABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kelly Jones is a curious person, interested in chickens, magic, farm life, spies, sewing, the odd everyday bits of history, how to make sauerkraut, how to walk goats, superheroes and what makes them so super, recipes to make with a lot of eggs, anything with ghosts (particularly friendly ghosts), how to draw chickens that actually look like chickens, and any story she’s never heard before.

She’s also a writer: Her debut novel Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, about twelve-year-old Sophie and her magical chickens, is forthcoming from Knopf Books For Young Readers in May of 2015.

Her second book, Glamour, is set in 1818, England, about sixteen-year-old Annis, who would like to become a spy like her father and who does not see why the War Office should put up such a fuss (with bonus magical dressmaking!) is forthcoming from Knopf Books for Young Readers in Spring of 2017.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer visit your local library or bookstore. Also, check out WorldCat.org, IndieBound.org, Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Apr 13 2015

Three Ways to Help Bookstores & Libraries Talk About Your Book

By Kelly Jones

So, you’re a writer, and you’ve written a book. You’ve gotten feedback, polished it, and now it’s being published. Congratulations!

Or, maybe you found a book you love, and you want to help spread the word about it!

But, how do you get it into readers’ hands? For that, you may want some help from booksellers, librarians, and teachers. Here’s how to help them discover and share your book with readers!

1. Build a Booktalk

A “booktalk” is a tool to help readers decide if a book is right for them. If you can share a 30-second booktalk that librarians and booksellers can use with readers, that can make their jobs much easier!

Some ways booktalks are used:

  • A bookseller might pull 3-5 novels off a display and booktalk each of them to help a customer decide what to buy.
  • A school media specialist / librarian might booktalk a number of books for a class assignment, so kids can choose what to read.
  • A book club might solicit booktalks from members to choose the group’s next book.

22639675An example for my novel, Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, which releases May 12 with Knopf Books for Young Readers:

“Unusual Chickens is a book about twelve-year-old Sophie and her magic chickens. When Sophie’s dad loses his job, she and her parents move from Los Angeles to the Northern California farm they inherited. Sophie doesn’t feel like she fits in – she’s Latina and isn’t used to living in a mostly-white neighborhood – so she writes diary-like letters to her beloved abuela, who recently died. Pretty soon, she’s trying to keep a telekinetic chicken, an invisible chicken, and a super-fast chicken safe from a chicken thief, all while making a friend and getting to know her new community.”

What makes a good booktalk?

It’s conversational. Booktalks are part of a conversation about books; they should be an easy way to tell someone about your book, and they should feel natural to the speaker. Consider starting with words like “This is a book about…” “Imagine you are…” “What if…”

The first line hooks readers.

Sometimes even 30 seconds is too long, and you need a one-sentence booktalk. If you only got to share the first sentence of your booktalk, would that be enough to hook a reader? Work on it, then test it out on readers.

It’s memorable and intriguing. We all hear about hundreds of “great books” – what makes this book perfect for the right readers? What details will help readers remember it? How would a reader ask for this book? What makes it not only memorable, but intriguing to the perfect reader?

It gives the reader clues, so they can make a decision. Clues such as the age of the protagonist, the culture(s) in the story, the location, the genre, and what happens can all help the reader to decide whether the book sounds like something they’d like to read. I especially like to include clues that tell readers if a book might be a mirror (a book they can see themselves in) or a window (a world they’d like to experience through a book).  Unusual Chickens isn’t primarily about Sophie’s experience as a modern Latina girl – it’s about her magic chickens. But who she is can be an important clue for readers, so I include her heritage in my booktalk.

It contains specific details, but not too many. There are more cool details in any book than will fit in a booktalk – let some surprise and delight the reader who picks it up! Do include specific details – they’re what make your book different from all the others — but choose just a few, or the reader may be overwhelmed.

2. Build Your Local Book Community

So, you have a booktalk for your book! Now let’s find some booksellers and librarians to share it with.

Start local. Visit your local bookstore and/or library, and get to know the book people who work there! I like to start by finding people who like the books I like, and books that are similar to my book. I check displays and recommendations by staff, and ask the people who work there if anyone can recommend a book that’s similar to one I liked.

Share your book as part of your conversation. I like to start conversations with a compliment (“What a beautiful display – I love that you’re celebrating diverse reads!”) or a question (“Can you help me find other middle grade novels about chickens?”) Once we’re talking about other writers’ books, I feel more comfortable talking about mine (“My book about a Latina girl and her magic chickens comes out in May from Random House – I’m so excited!”)

When someone asks about your book, share your booktalk. You want to memorize the basic details and be able to work them into a conversation, not read from a script. It doesn’t need to be exactly the same words every time – and it shouldn’t sound like you’re reciting a speech. (That isn’t how you’d tell your friends about your book, right?) If it’s too long for you to remember, no one else will remember it either – try a shorter one! This is your chance to help a bookseller or librarian pick which details to tell readers about. Pay attention to what intrigues them, what they ask about, and what they don’t seem as interested in.

3. Build Your Online Book Community

What if you don’t have a local bookstore, or you don’t feel comfortable talking to people in person about your book? Try finding booksellers and librarians online!

Use your booktalk online. People looking for more information about you and your book will find it and share it, if they find it on your blog or through social media and it intrigues them. Your booktalk can help book people share your book with readers even if they haven’t had a chance to read your book themselves yet.

Find your book people. Try the Twitter hashtag #librarylife, search for bookstores’ social media pages, read professional reviews such as School Library Journal, and pay attention to online mentions. What bookstores are hosting your favorite authors? Who gave your book a glowing review? What booksellers chose the Kids’ Indie Next titles? Are they on social media? Follow them! Who are they following? Follow them, too! (Latin@s in KidLit is an awesome starting place, of course!!)

Talk about other people’s books! Book people love to talk about books. So join in! Is a bookseller or librarian looking for book suggestions? Share one! Have you just read an amazing book, or learned about a book you’re excited to read – or that you think some readers might really love? Talk about it! Is there a book that inspired you? Share it! Challenge yourself to an extra-short booktalk of someone else’s book, using specific details rather than “great” or “awesome”.

Then, talk about your book, too! Sneak peeks, exciting moments, the kinds of details you share in your booktalk – these are all great to share on social media! But, do try to keep thinking about the reader’s perspective: What can you share that will help the perfect readers find your book, or share it with other readers? What will excite readers and convince them that this is a book they might love? Share that!

Happy booktalking!

Librarians, booksellers, and teachers: please share your thoughts! What helps you share books with readers? How can authors help you find the right readers for their books?

 

Kelly JonesKelly Jones is a curious person, interested in chickens, magic, farm life, spies, sewing, the odd everyday bits of history, how to make sauerkraut, how to walk goats, superheroes and what makes them so super, recipes to make with a lot of eggs, anything with ghosts (particularly friendly ghosts), how to draw chickens that actually look like chickens, and any story she’s never heard before.

She’s also a writer: Her debut novel Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, about twelve-year-old Sophie and her magical chickens, is forthcoming from Knopf Books For Young Readers in May of 2015.

Her second book, Glamour, is set in 1818, England, about sixteen-year-old Annis, who would like to become a spy like her father and who does not see why the War Office should put up such a fuss (with bonus magical dressmaking!) is forthcoming from Knopf Books for Young Readers in Spring of 2017.