Barn 8, by Deb Olin Unferth

Why did the chicken cross the road? Well in this case, she was running away from the factory farm housing about a million of her hen sisters. Her escape, witnessed by a disaffected inspector of commercial egg farms, sets in motion a series of events which will hatch a scheme to steal all million or so of these chickens and take them to shelters. Improbable, yes, and ultimately doomed to failure. But in the course of the story the reader will learn (probably more than they are comfortable learning) about where all those supermarket eggs come from, meet the farmers who run these operations, get to know a mixed band of various animal liberation types, and come to respect the heritage and intelligence of the much underestimated hen, or as Unferth so wonderfully describes her, “T Rex’s pretty little niece.” Part mad-cap caper, part serious critique of human’s treatment of animals, part call to protect the earth’s fragile ecosystem. Laugh out loud funny on occasion too. I’m very fond of “Dash,” the one remaining chicken who lives next door, so was particularly captivated by the book. Dash is smart, has lots of interesting vocalizations (one is purring like a cat), and is a sucker for corn on the cob – lures her in her coop for the night every time. So maybe she’s not quite so bright…. 256 pp.