The water on the outdoor HenCam  lens isn’t rain – we’re having a mid-winter thaw, and what you see is melting, dripping water. Thank goodness.

Then again, since the ground is still frozen solid, and on top of that is about 4 inches of packed snow/ice, and then about 9 inches of snow over that, well, when the top layer melts, there’s nowhere for the water to go. It’s supposed to be above freezing all week, but only during the day. At night, all that newly melted water will turn back into smooth ice. Walking is treacherous.

Maybe by the end of the week there will be mud? Sigh.

On Tuesday I read Tillie Lays an Egg to about 80 kindergartners and first graders. Eggers, “the actress who plays Tillie” greeted the children with chirrups and clucks. She has quite the regal bearing. The kids were impressed. Part of my presentation entails talking about chickens, egg laying, what chickens eat, etc. There are a lot of pigeons in Cambridge, Mass., where the kids live, but not a lot of chickens! It’s interesting to me that I had to make the connection for them that both pigeons and chickens are birds. I asked who had seen the movie Chicken Run. Many raised their hands. I said, “In the movie, the chickens have teeth. Look at Tillie. She has a beak like all other birds. No teeth!” The children were incredulous.They watched her peck corn from my hand and observed how birds eat and how different it is than animals with lips and teeth. 

What else do kids think about animals comes from animated shows? How little do they really know about the animals around them, especially the farm animals? Awhile back, there was a movie in which the Holstein cow, complete with an udder, was voiced by a male actor. Really! Ultimately this lack of understanding will impact the big picture, like farm policy. My solution? More chickens in the classroom.

I had a wonderful time at the Willington Center Elementary School in Connecticut yesterday. Three delightful and amazingly well-behaved kindergarten classes greeted me in their library. I read Tillie Lays an Egg. I talked about chickens. Did you know that people take baths in a bathtub with water and soap but that chickens take baths in the dirt? The kids loved that. They also were fascinated to hear that chickens like the color red, and that they like eating leftover cooked spaghetti! 

We also talked about writing stories. Using the last photo in Tillie – the one where she’s in the pickup truck – I asked the kids where Tillie was off to next. To the fair to ride on the Ferris Wheel, perhaps? Some suggested the mall, others the beach. Maybe camping! I also asked them, if they had a flock of chickens, what names they would give them. Would they use people names, or perhaps the names of characters from favorite books? Of course, one boy suggested Captain Underpants : ) Or maybe words like “diamond” and “precious?” 

Some of the teachers were so inspired that they went right back to their classrooms and got their children writing right then.

I repeated the program for an equally wonderful group of first-graders. 

They’re doing something right at The Willington Center Elementary School.

I have been thrilled to get emails from librarians telling me how much they love Tillie. My book is being used for story hours! HenCam is seen on library computer screens. People are talking about their favorite chickens (which is just the subject matter that I think librarians should be sharing with their public!)

Instead of a “chicken in every pot” I’d like to see Tillie Lays an Egg in every library. To that end, I’m going to donate a copy of Tillie to a library (school or public) of the winner’s choice. All you have to do to enter is email me. Write “contest” on the subject line. Anyone can enter – librarians, teachers, kids. You can only enter once, but each student from a classroom can enter the contest!

The contest closes on February 8th at midnight.

I’ll use one of those nifty random generators to select the winner.

Good-luck!

You’ve probably been watching Candy napping in the coop, or sunbathing in her hutch. Perhaps you think that she sleeps as much as a cat! However, she’s been very busy in a part of the run that is just out of the camera’s view.

Candy has made this snow nest:

And she has made this tunnel:

Right now it’s the “road to nowhere.” It doesn’t lead to food. It doesn’t lead to a protective shelter. These constructions are how she plays in the snow; just like children build snow forts, Candy makes tunnels and nests. I imagine she’d like to make snowballs and have a mock battle with the hens.