Andrew arrives at school with a book full of scratchy writing, telling Gemma, 'The chicken gave it to me.' Inside they find a story entitled, The True Story of Harrowing Farm, in which aliens chuck a group of chickens out of the cramped, dark barn they've been reared in, to fill it with the humans they like to grow to eat. Despite having been kept horribly confined by humans, the chicken cannot bear them to suffer the same fate. Reading the chicken's words, Andrew and Gemma start thinking about their food, asking Vinit about his vegetarian diet and finding their classmates have a huge range of ideas - mostly contradictory - about where their meat comes from. The chicken, bravely, steps into one of the aliens' spacecraft, returns to their planet and runs into a chat show host. Appearing on alien TV, the chicken is able to spread the word about the human farms and convinces the aliens to care for their humans better before eating them. The chicken returns to earth and smiles to hear, from the grass of the field, Andrew and Gemma making up songs about free range chickens.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
Avidly, Gemma and Andrew pore over the extraordinary manuscript forced on him by a passing hen: ``The True Story of Harrowing Farm.'' The hen tells how little green men shoo her and her fellows from the cramped cages where they've been confined to lay eggs, uncomfortably, in public, then fit the cages to humans- -the species they prefer as food. Horrified to see people suffering as she used to, the hen stows away on the men's spaceship and becomes a TV celebrity on their planet, successfully pitching her plea: no one should eat an animal that isn't first allowed a happy life; anyway, grains and vegetables are more efficient foods. The message dominates; but Fine (My War with Goggle-Eyes, 1989) is an imaginative humorist who treats the gruesome reversal with a light touch. The satirical episodes of the hen's space adventure alternate with the kids' responses to it (incredulous, then concerned); meanwhile, Fine points out how humans keep uncomfortable truths (like conditions in chicken factories) concealed. Animal-rights advocates will be delighted; others can enjoy Fine's wry wit--and have their sensitivities enhanced. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Avidly, Gemma and Andrew pore over the extraordinary manuscript forced on him by a passing hen: "The True Story of Harrowing Farm." The hen tells how little green men shoo her and her fellows from the cramped cages where they've been confined to lay eggs, uncomfortably, in public, then fit the cages to humans - the species they prefer as food. Horrified to see people suffering as she used to, the hen stows away on the men's spaceship and becomes a TV celebrity on their planet, successfully pitching her plea: no one should eat an animal that isn't first allowed a happy life; anyway, grains and vegetables are more efficient foods. The message dominates; but Fine (My War with Goggle-Eyes, 1989) is an imaginative humorist who treats the gruesome reversal with a light touch. The satirical episodes of the hen's space adventure alternate with the kids' responses to it (incredulous, then concerned); meanwhile, Fine points out how humans keep uncomfortable truths (like conditions in chicken factories) concealed. Animal-rights advocates will be delighted; others can enjoy Fine's wry wit - and have their sensitivities enhanced. (Kirkus Reviews)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought-provoking, great for kids of all ages!,
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This review is from: Chicken Gave It to Me (Paperback)
This is a cute, yet thought-provoking little book about what would happen if the tables were turned on mankind. In this book, little, green men come from outer space to take humans back to their planet to eat! All of the humans lives depend on one small, stowaway hen, who thinks she is TOO small to make a difference, but in the end makes a REALLY big differance on the little green planet and their views of how "inferior" humans are. This book, with it's large print, makes a great book for kids of all ages! It is, I think, a most inspiring book. It makes it very clear that no matter how small or differant you are you can make a difference in people's lives. (Even if you are a little chicken on a big, green planet!) --Courtney Kelly
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