City Chickens

    Just outside of downtown Minneapolis, if you follow the sounds of crowing and clucking, you will find a shelter for, of all animals, chickens. There are chickens in the yard, chickens in the shower...chickens upstairs and downstairs, in the kitchen and under the couch, eating spaghetti and laying eggs. Many of the feathered guests at Mary Britton Clouses Chicken Run Rescue have been found wandering the city streets. Some escaped from backyard chicken coops or from illegal cockfighting rings, and others began their lives as fuzzy chicks in a classroom incubator with no one to take care of them once the novelty wore off. Whatever the reason, these smart, gentle, and friendly animals need help, and Mary is just the one to provide it to them.  Over the years, Mary and her husband, Bert, have given hundreds of homeless birds a safe place to rest until they can be adopted by caring families. Illustrated with full-color photographs, City Chickens is a slice-of-life look at people who take care of some of the more neglected and forgotten about animals, who are often misunderstood and mistreated.  Each chicken and rooster has a story to share and first-time author Christine Heppermann (who adopted her own chicken) has crafted a spare, moving, and at times humorous text that will open caring young readers' eyes and also inspire them to follow their hearts when it comes to helping all creatures great and small. Come along and find out why lovable chickens are actually, according to Mary, “the ones who need friends the most.” 

An animal shelter…just for chickens? You'll find one just outside downtown Minneapolis, where Mary Britton Clouse runs the Chicken Run Rescue for abandoned chickens up for adoption in this moving, humorous, and fully illustrated look at one woman's determination to care for chickens in need.