Hens for Friends. Sandy De Lisle

Hens for Friends, about a young boy’s fun relationship with Margaret the chicken, is based on the reality of a family keeping a few laying hens. The topic encourages empathy and critical thinking skills. Delightful 24 full-color realistic, amusing illustrations by award-winning Amelia Hansen.Backyard chickens have become a newsworthy topic, in urban as well as suburban and rural areas.Caring for backyard chickens ties into the growing nation-wide concerns of everyday people about the safety of their food, how farm animals are treated, and the resulting DIY food movement. Insider knowledge: chickens are affectionate, intelligent, and have distinctive personalities. Easy-to-digest information about the benefits and the obligations of responsible stewardship of backyard hens.Perfect for bookstores to cohost a reading with a local animal humane group, backyard chicken group, or chicken sanctuary, or for animal loving bookstores.The wildly popular film Chicken Run and perennial favorites like The Little Red Hen speak to the appeal of chickens for young readers and viewers.Hens for Friends, unlike other children’s picture books about chickens, has a sweet sensibility about the joy of a loving relationship with an unusual companion animal. The back page of the book lists resources for adults.