Sam the Man & the Chicken Plan

Description: When seven-year-old Sam Graham, eager for some spending money, volunteers to look after a neighbor's chickens, the experience inspires him to get his own chicken--a special bird named Helga.

Brief description: Frances O'Roark Dowell is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of Dovey Coe, which won the Edgar Award and the William Allen White Award; Where I'd Like to Be; The Secret Language of Girls and its sequels The Kind of Friends We Used to Be and The Sound of Your Voice, Only Really Far Away; Chicken Boy; Shooting the Moon, which was awarded the Christopher Medal; the Phineas L. MacGuire series; Falling In; the critically acclaimed The Second Life of Abigail Walker; Anybody Shining; Ten Miles Past Normal; Trouble the Water; and most recently the Sam the Man series. She lives with her husband and two sons in Durham, North Carolina. Connect with Frances online at FrancesDowell.com.

Review Quotes: Seven-year-old Sam's search for a job leadshim to chickens and an unexpected friendship.Sam's father does "somethingwith computers," his mother does "something with clients," andhis older sister, Annabelle, mows lawns at "20 bucks a pop." When hisneighbor stops by to ask Annabelle if she'd take care of her chickens whileshe's away for the weekend, Sam persuades Mrs. Kerner that he can do it. Hesoon realizes he needs a steady stream of income and thinks that maybe his ownchicken could help. He arranges with Mrs. Kerner to board his new chicken withhers in exchange for overall chicken care, and he pays his father back forHelga, who lays blue eggs, by taking a job as his elderly neighbor's exercisecompanion. Dowell creates in Sam a completely believable 7-year-old whosedesires "to be an expert on something" and to emulate his familymembers combine organically to drive this story of intergenerational (andinterspecies) friendship. His burgeoning relationship with grumpy Mr. Stockfishis as much a joy to watch as his excitement over Helga's first egg. Thefinancial lessons he learns are valuable ones, delivered painlessly in thetightly focused third-person narration. Bates' soft pencil illustrations depictSam's close-knit family as white, Mr. Stockfish and his daughter as black, andhis classmates as diverse in color. A sweet slice of neighborhood life; here'shoping for more of Sam the Man. (Fiction. 6-9)--Kirkus Reviews "6/1/16"