Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

The rural setting of Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer continues a long tradition of farm and countryside tales geared toward children that are designed to stoke the imagination in a wild and sometimes brutal setting. The rural children’s novel typically features a child main character, typically between the ages of 10 and 14, who experiences growth through agricultural responsibility or connection with nature and animals. This genre can be partially traced to Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose autobiographical children’s novels, the most famous of which are the Little House on the Prairie series, were published between 1932 and 1943. Wilder’s novels center around themes of family, community, agriculture, and responsibility—themes that persist in rural children’s literature in the contemporary era.

The connection between children and animals is another important element explored through rural children’s literature. One of the most prominent rural children’s novels is E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (1952). In this novel, eight-year-old Fern Arable’s connection with Wilbur the pig and the rest of the animals is a central part of the story. Another classic children’s novel, Where the Red Fern Grows (1961), tells the tale of 10-year-old Billy Colman and his hard work to buy and train hunting dogs.