Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones, 216 pages

Told in a series of letters from Sofia to her Great-Uncle Jim, her grandmother, and Agnes, who is the owner of Redwood Farm Supply, we find out all about Sofia and her life.  Her uncle and grandmother have died, so the letters aren't being mailed anywhere.  In fact, Sofia and her parents have just moved to the farm because they inherited it from her Great-Uncle Jim.  Once there, Sofia finds the flyer from Redwood Farm Supply advertising unusual chickens.  She writes to request a catalog, but also finds a chicken that she suspects is one of the unusual chickens advertised.  She finally receives a reply from Agnes confirming that it probably is one of her uncle's chickens and that she should be on the lookout for the rest of the flock and she should keep and take good care of the chicken, which Sofia has been calling Henrietta.  Unfortunately, someone may be trying to steal Henrietta and Sofia isn't sure how to protect her, especially since she hasn't even told her parents about the chicken yet.  This was a really fun read that I would highly recommend to grade school kids.

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer,

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, written by Kelly Jones, illustrated by Katie Kath, 216 pages

Sophie and her parents have recently inherited her great-uncle's farm in rural California.  The timing couldn't have been better, what with her father having just lost his job -- so the family picks up and moves from Los Angeles to Blackbird Farm.  Neither Sophie nor her father know much about farming, and her mom's too busy with her freelance writing gig to teach them.  Just as her great-uncle's chickens begin wandering home, Sophie stumbles across a mysterious mail correspondence course in poultry farming.  She's going to need all the help she can get, because these chickens are HIGHLY unusual (semi-spoiler: they have superpowers!) and it appears that there's a poultry thief out to get them.

This story is told entirely through letters that Sophie writes to local (and mysterious) poultry-expert Agnes as well as her deceased abuelita and great-uncle, and is sure to appeal to fans of Roald Dahl (though Jones' writing lacks Dahl's typical disdain for adults).  The black and white illustrations go a long way to helping readers picture Sophie and the myriad breeds of chickens she encounters while the epistolary format should appeal to kids who love reading diary-style novels like Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries.

Blink of the Screen

Blink of the Screen by Terry Pratchett, 286 pages

This is a collection of short works spanning the Pratchett's entire writing career ranging from old school assignments, through his first writing jobs, to his Discworld series and the present day. The stories themselves range from gnomes living in stores, chickens crossing the road, death, virtual reality, and a couple of pieces from Discworld.
 Anyone who likes Terry Pratchett's work should read this book, especially since he puts some his early works that aren't as easy to find.  I was actually impressed by some of the stories that he wrote when he was still in school, if nothing else just by some of the ideas for them.