Mary Jane and Herm Auch have enjoyed getting to know their character chicken author, Henrietta Fowler over the course of her first two adventures — SOUPERCHICKEN, where she teaches herself to read, and THE PLOT CHICKENS, where she studies to become a writer.
In THE PLOT CHICKENS Henrietta’s first attempt at publishing earns her a rejection. Undaunted, she prints out a small number of books and gives one to her local librarian. Alas, the poor hen gets smacked down once again by a nasty review, the bane of all authors. The review states that “chickens should never write books.” Ready to give up her dream of becoming an author, Henrietta’s spirits are lifted by her librarian, who tells her that the story hour children have voted her book the best.
In looking for a new story idea for Henrietta, the Auchs decided to give her one of their favorite author activities, a book festival, or in Henrietta’s case, THE BUK BUK BUK FESTIVAL. Now older and wiser, Henrietta doesn’t let the publisher know that she’s a chicken, so when she accepts an invitation to a book festival, nobody expectsa chicken to show up at the event. When chaos ensues, Henrietta reaches out to the loyal librarian, who comes to her aid once again, proclaiming that “A chicken who can write a book is a national treasure.”
A number of children's authors an illustrators make cameo appearances in this book. You might be able to spot Cynthia DeFelice, Bruce Coville, Susanne Bloom, and Vivian Vande Velde, to name a few. A little boy with a bright red shirt shows up in a some illustrations. That's the Auchs' grandson, Jack Giovanni Auch, who enjoys pointing out himself, his mommy and daddy, and also "Nana and Bompa."
