Farmer Otis and his family love their chickens. They have 11: the colorful ones, Trixie, Grace, Bitsy, and Boo; and 7 more white hens, all named Joyce. The family writes each hen's name on their eggs as they collect them e neighbors have favorites. One day, after her usual arugula salad, Trixie has something to say: "NO MORE ARUGULA" she writes in the dirt. Over the next few days, Willie and Belle, the farmer's children, find more chicken talk scrawled in the dirt, words that grow increasingly demanding and finally culminate in seven statements, all along the same lines: "Too many Joyces!" Children will love suggesting names for the Joyces (though the Joyces have plenty of suggestions of their own), as they speculate what the chickens will write next. The multimedia, cartoon illustrations using India ink and brushes fill the spreads with color and character, as each chicken and human strut across the pages.

A series of mysterious messages yields surprising insights for this farm family.Farmers Otis and Abby have two children, Willie and Belle—and 12 beloved chickens, who are often included in family activities, eating fresh salads, reading, and sitting in rocking chairs on the porch. Krosoczka's expressive illustrations, rendered in what appears to be watercolor and pencil, bring humor and tenderness to each character, human and chicken. One day, the humans are surprised to discover a message that appears to have been scratched in the dirt by a chicken: "No more ARUGULA." More messages, complete with charming mistakes such as a reversed letter "e," soon follow: "More stories about brave chickens" and "too hot. Can we have a fan?" After Tripp, their letter carrier, tells the townspeople, human crowds appear with smartphones and money in hand to document the "chicken talk" and purchase eggs. Unlike Charlotte's Web, the humans and their feathered wordsmiths appear to live in mutual appreciation happily ever after. Yet the greatest mystery of all is never solved: Can readers trust that these messages truly are coming directly from the chickens? What would it mean if they were not? Regardless, MacLachlan's latest models an attentive, loving, and respectful relationship between humans and their animal companions that even those without articulate pets will appreciate. The farmers and their children present white; Tripp has brown skin.A sweet, silly, and slightly surreal celebration of individuality and connection. (Picture book. 4-8)

A farmer and his family have 12 beloved chickens, among them seven hens named Joyce. The whole group listens avidly during readaloud time, and the hens -sometimes sat on the porch chairs and looked out over the meadow like elegant ladies.- Then a message appears in the dirt: -No more arugula.- Willie and Belle, the farmer-s children, ponder the mystery. -Only the chickens eat arugula,- Willie points out, and a hen named Trixie gives the kids a pointed look. Their parents, Otis and Abby, are quick to believe: -I thought Trixie liked arugula,- Abby says. The birds- messages develop from there, with one request for -more stories about brave chickens- and a growing retinue of bystanders clamoring after eggs and chicken talk both. The story isn-t complete, though, until every chicken gets a voice of its own. Artwork by Krosoczka (Hey, Kiddo) uses softly sketched lines and gentle farmyard hues to provide a sense of the farm-s peace and the chickens- cleverness. MacLachlan (My Father-s Words) offers droll dialogue, a bucolic setting, and a spirited defense of animals as distinct beings with unacknowledged powers of observation. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)