Nancy Call

Each page or spread asks and answers just one question about chickens and their care, presented in a logical sequence. Lots of white space in the warm Photoshop illustrations allows the exemplar chicken, a Rhode Island Red, plenty of room; she is generally pictured at about half life-size. A closing spread offers a slightly more advanced set of chicken questions. Reading list, websites.

This straightforward introduction to chickens is a lesson in book design of young informational books. Lots of white space allows the exemplar chicken, a Rhode Island Red, plenty of room; she (and the book clearly explains how to tell the males from the females) is generally pictured at about half life-sized. Each page or spread asks (“How long does it take an egg to become a chick?”) and answers (“If a fertilized egg is kept warm and turned regularly, a chick will hatch in about 21 days”) just one question about chickens and their care, and the sequence of questions is logical, with each answer building on what’s come before. The Photoshop illustrations are warm and unclinical but spare and always attentive to the particular topic under review. A closing spread offers a slightly more advanced set of chicken questions (“Why do chickens have combs?”) and a neat, brief directory of other sources for information. Sophie in Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer, reviewed on page 112, would’ve found the practical information here extremely useful. roger sutton