Book Description
for City Chickens by Christine Heppermann
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Author Christine Heppermann didn’t set out to become the enamored owner of pet poultry—a polish bantam hen named Kandinsky with an absurd puffball of feathers on her head, and a long-feathered rooster named Yeti, who does, indeed, look like a miniature snow monster. But after researching and writing this account of a Minneapolis couple who have turned their city home into a haven for homeless birds, she is one. Heppermann’s engaging photo documentary tells how Chicken Run Rescue owners Mary Britton Clouse and her husband Bert turned their love of animals into incredible rescue and advocacy work. Through the stories of individual birds that have come to the shelter, she also underscores the challenges faced by chickens (and roosters), who are not widely considered companion animals. Most of their fates end happily, thanks to Chicken Run Rescue. But the birds’ individual personalities also shine. Heppermann describes her own journey to happy chicken adopter and shares tips about chickens as pets in an author’s note with additional photos. (Ages 8–13)
CCBC Choices 2013. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2013. Used with permission.