Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

Sophie writes to Great-Uncle Jim. The chicken she found on his farm, which she suspects used to be his, has telekinetic powers (it can move objects using its mind). She describes how she found the coop propped up off the ground on four logs with Henrietta inside. Sophie was confused and concerned until she witnessed Henrietta levitate the empty water cup to Sophie’s feet, demanding it be filled. Sophie is scared because she’s read enough books in which magic things happen to kids, and she worries that she won’t be able to care for a chicken with superpowers.

Sophie decides that she’ll keep Henrietta and tell Mom and Dad soon (but leave out the superpower part). She wishes that Jim could give her advice because there aren’t any books about caring for magic chickens.

A letter to Sophie from Agnes at Redwood Farm explains that Henrietta is one of Jim’s that he got from their company. Agnes warns Sophie to keep Henrietta safe, not to give her away, and not to tell anyone about her. The letter is riddled with typing errors, and Agnes apologizes for her broken typewriter.

Sophie writes to Agnes. She suggests that Agnes write instead of type to circumvent the broken typewriter but warns Agnes not to use cursive. Abuelita’s cursive is impossible to read, so no one can make her recipes.

Sophie explains how Henrietta can move things and operate the henhouse latch with her mind. She asks if Henrietta can do anything else. She feels the duty to care for Henrietta because she was Great-Uncle Jim’s. She asks for a manual on keeping special chickens because she’s already found a book for regular chickens.

Sophie asks what happened to Great-Uncle Jim’s other chickens, and if the tub of “layer crumble” she found in the barn is chicken food. She adds that she saw the fast black thing again and wants to know if it’s dangerous for her chickens.

An illustration features a page from a chicken care book about the Bantam White Leghorn chicken breed, describing them as small yet demanding.

Sophie writes to Agnes at Redwood Farm saying that a lady named Sue Griegson tried to steal Henrietta. Sophie worries that the lady will return to try again.

Illustrations depict a woman trying to break into the chicken coop and Sophie blowing her safety whistle.

Sophie writes to Great-Uncle Jim. Sophie describes some tips that she’s read in her chicken care book and talks about the things she’s found on Jim’s farm that she suspects were intended for chickens, including a padlock for the chicken coop. Sophie enjoys watching Henrietta.

When Sophie went back to the house earlier, she heard a woman talking to her parents, so she locked up Henrietta, recalling what Agnes said. Sophie posted up in the barn to wait out the visit, but Mom, Dad, and the strange woman came to talk to Sophie. The woman explained that her chickens had gotten away, and she was looking for them. Sophie asked the woman where her farm was, and when she revealed that her farm was a couple of miles away, Mom and Dad became skeptical that she’d find her chickens here. Sophie thought that that would be the end of it, but shortly after, she caught the woman trying to break the padlock on the coop. She blew her safety whistle to draw attention and scare the woman off. She suspects that the woman has been to their farm before because she knew in which direction to run to get away.

Sophie found the screwdriver with hammer marks in the bushes and showed her parents. Sophie kept Henrietta a secret, so Mom and Dad aren’t sure what the woman wanted with the coop.

An illustration shows Sophie talking to Gregory the mailman.

Sophie writes to Abuelita. She wonders if Great-Uncle Jim has been sharing his letters with her or even if they’re in the same place. She tells Abuelita about how scared she was today when the lady tried to take Henrietta. She’s thankful that Abuelita is watching over their family. She knows that she needs to tell Mom and Dad about Henrietta.

Sophie adds at the end of the letter that she spoke to Gregory about how she’s writing letters to dead people, and he told her about the ways people send their letters to the dead, like burning them or leaving them in a specific place at a specific time. Gregory told Sophie that there’s so much that human philosophy doesn’t cover about heaven and earth, so who knows if the dead can write back. Sophie wishes that they could.

Sophie writes to Great-Uncle Jim. That morning, she couldn’t get the padlock off the chicken coop, so she had to unscrew the hinges to let Henrietta out. Henrietta can’t figure out the padlock either. It’s Father’s Day, so Sophie is making Dad oatmeal for breakfast. She hopes to make him some of Henrietta’s eggs someday.

An illustration shows smiley-faced oatmeal in a bowl.

A letter from Agnes, riddled with typing errors, explains how to care for Henrietta and how to store her eggs. Agnes also suggests that Sophie look out for Jim’s six other chickens and catch the black one if she can. Agnes has included a beginner poultry course packet for Sophie.

The poultry course packet features a questionnaire, which Sophie fills out. Her answers reveal that, even though Sophie has never had a pet before, she’s prepared for the responsibility.

The packet also contains information about chickens’ dietary needs and the proper equipment for feeding and watering chickens. It ends with a worksheet so that Sophie can calculate her chicken’s food needs.

Illustrations show Sophie hugging Henrietta, cleaning out the chicken coop, speaking to a librarian, and reading to Henrietta.

Sophie writes to Abuelita and describes her morning routine cleaning the coop and feeding Henrietta the proper diet. Sophie goes the extra distance to give Henrietta treats and make her comfortable. When Sophie told her parents about Henrietta, they wanted to contact Ms. Griegson. Although Sophie insisted that Henrietta isn’t Ms. Griegson’s, Mom doesn’t want to make waves or become the problem neighbors, as she had bad experiences growing up Mexican in a white area.

Dad drove Sophie to the library to look up Ms. Griegson’s contact information. The librarian, Ms. O’Malley, told Dad and Sophie that Sue Griegson has only ever raised Rhode Island Red chickens. Henrietta is one of Jim’s chickens, who must have scattered after his death. Sophie checked out more chicken books, and Dad helped her cut the padlock off the coop.

Sophie can tell that her parents are uncertain, but she’s optimistic that she can keep Henrietta. She wonders about the fast black chicken and gushes about how much she loves having a chicken.