City Chickens by Christine Heppermann - NO

 

Hepperman, Christine City Chickens. 64 pgs. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2012. $16.99. What looks like a helpful, feel-good guide to raising chickens in the city is actually the story of a family who converted their home into a chicken rescue center, as well as the biographies of many of the hens and roosters they rescued. Several of the stories are heart-warming, while others are very sad, and the section at the end about how to prepare for adopting chickens could prove helpful. Unfortunately, the book's message - that it's important to be prepared before setting up your own coop - is lost in an exhaustive background of the family, the rescue, and the adopted birds. There is little solid, helpful information, and the disorganization and nonessential info make the text difficult to follow and, frequently, boring. Younger students may find the pictures and story disturbing, as the book touches on such subjects as cockfighting, medical testing, frostbite, and animal attacks on coops. EL, MS - NOT RECOMMENDED. Reviewed by: Caryn.