Please
note: This book review is cross posted at Caffeinated While Reading.
Title: City
Chickens
Author: Christine Heppermann
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt
Year published: 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-51830-5
Genre: non-fiction; children’s literature; agriculture;
lifestyle
Cluck, cluck, cluck!!!!
That’s the sound of the lady chickens in that urban backyard you just walked
past.
Wait, what? Chickens in the city?
YES! Urban chickens and urban homesteading are becoming more and more common, but
that doesn’t mean life is always clucks and feathers for chickens. City Chickens by Christine Heppermann
is all about the plight of many chickens in urban areas, but more specifically
in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She traces the story of a husband and wife in the
city who have devoted their lives to rescuing chickens (among other animals)
and finding them new homes.
The book is part biography, part fun and informative
story, and part social awareness.
This is a great, but very honest and real, look at
what happens to many chickens and how their lives are improved by kind
rescuers. I highly encourage you to read this book with your kids or in your
classroom, but be forewarned that there are a couple of disturbing photos of
chickens who have been used in cockfighting and who are kept in chicken cages. These
disturbing situations are described as well, but not in too much detail, in order
to bring awareness to how chickens are abused and how they should be treated
instead. The book is mostly about how great chickens are
and how fun they can be to keep and care for when rescued and taken care of
properly.
In addition to profiling the owners of Chicken Run Rescue
in Minneapolis, the author also profiles a adolescent Abigail and her rescued
chicken, Billiam, as well as other chickens and their rescuers. I think young readers
in particular will like that there is a profile of a young person and that
other children are also featured in the book. The very back of the book also offers
a list of resources for learning more about chickens, including how to include
lessons about chickens and life cycles without hatching chicks in the classroom – a large reason why many chicks
are abandoned.
City Chickens
also talks about keeping chickens healthy and some of the health problems that
abandoned chicks often suffer. The author notes that if you keep urban
chickens, it is important to find a veterinarian that is able to provide proper
chicken care which may not always be easy to find in an urban area.
I loved this little book, and I think you should pick
it up to read with your kids or in your classroom. My son and I are planning
our own little homestead and urban oasis (we’re moving from the country back to
the city!) and want to raise chickens for their eggs, as pets, and also as
insect control in our garden (all of which are noted as options in City Chickens), so I headed to the
library to find books about chickens. Most of what I was found was far beyond what
I was looking for which brought me to the children’s section and City Chickens
As with many of the books I review, I found City Chickens Christine Heppermann at my
local library. However, you can also find it on Amazon HERE.
Do you raise chickens? Have your kids participated in
chicken hatching projects at school? Drop a comment and let us know!
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