Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer

Sophie Brown is the novel’s 12-year-old protagonist, whose journey to learn about chickens and farming is tracked through her letters to her late Abuelita, her late Great-Uncle Jim, and Agnes at Redwood Farm Supply. In Sophie’s first letter, she writes to Redwood Farm Supply about how her family has just moved to her late Great-Uncle Jim’s farm, and she’s ready to become a farmer. She assures the people at Redwood that she’s “a very responsible twelve-year-old” (1). Sophie’s second letter is to her late Abuelita, in which she talks about her new adventure on the farm, and how it’s different from her former life in Los Angeles. She also expresses concerns about the lack of contact from her old friends. Sophie is established as an ambitious and responsible yet lonely child who is grieving multiple family deaths at the beginning of the novel.

Sophie begins to find her place on the farm when she decides “that since Mom and Dad are busy, I should start trying to clean some things up around here” (17). Through Sophie, Jones portrays the possibilities of Building Responsibility Through Agriculture. Sophie’s choice to help around the property leads her to discover Henrietta, the first of Great-Uncle Jim’s scattered chickens.