Chicken Boy (2005)

by Frances O'Roark Dowell

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Since the death of his mother, Tobin's family life and school life have been in disarray, but after he starts raising chickens with his seventh-grade classmate, Henry, everything starts to fall into place.

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Tobin (7th grade) lives with his widower father and three older siblings. Nobody keeps up the house or the yard, and the kitchen is usually empty. After his mother died, everyone just let things go to pot. His maternal grandmother, eccentric in her own right, is his best and only friend. But then Henry comes along. Henry is a fellow student who drafts Tobin to assist him and his brother in a chicken farming enterprise. Henry's little brother, Harrison, is mainly interested in profit, but Henry is more interested in proving that chickens have souls.
To his surprise, Tobin finds that he likes having his peculiar friend, and he begins to like the chickens too. He starts taking more interest in school, and life in general.
But then his grandmother reports his father to social services, saying he lives with an unfit parent.
Tobin, his father, and his grandmother all have things to learn about being a family. But Henry and the chickens remain steady. (

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fingerpost | Feb 17, 2019 |

This 2007 Dorothy Canfield Fisher award nominated book is an engaging story of a 7th grade boy and his family and school life through hard times. This would be a great read for students to either gain an understanding of how a fellow student might end up in foster care and why as well as the difference in economic spectrums from which different kids come. As a chicken-loving adult, I enjoyed the love of chickens portrayed in this quick read. (

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niquetteb | Sep 6, 2016 |

I wanted the retro red & gold silhouette cover, but got this, with the photo of the boy with the puppy-dog eyes, instead. Good story, but a little workmanlike, with some implausible bits, and not as quite as special & fresh as the other cover. I definitely want to know Henry and Harrison better, though. Btw, Henry is a vegetarian (well, almost, he does eat fish. And eggs, of course). (

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Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Jun 6, 2016 |

Booktalk:
My name is Tobin and I know what all the kids in 7th grade think of me. #1: I'm a McCauley, so I must be white trash and a future criminal. #2: my Granny is the lady in town that everyone laughs at because of all the nutty things she does, so I might be crazy. #3: Everything in school is hard for me, so perhaps I'm stupid. What they don't know, is that ever since my mom died, I been really lonely. Since she died, my dad doesn't even pretend to care about me. And my brothers and sister ignore me too. I've got no friends. Well, that is, until Henry, the new boy in town, sees me defend our English teacher. Now he's offerin' to make me a partner in his chicken-raising business. And you know what? You can learn a lot about life from a chicken. (

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lnommay | Aug 4, 2009 |

Good southern coming-of-age book for middle school boys. The characters occasionally seemed a little mature for their ages, but likeable none-the-less. I don't know why the mother always has to die in boy's coming of age stories, but it does seem to be an over-riding theme including this book. A custody battle, although not bad, between the main character's father and grandmother is a central theme as well as raising chickens and whether or not chickens have souls and friendship. Oddly it all ties together and works. I ejoyed this one and will recommend it. (

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paroof | Jul 22, 2009 |

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Canonical title

Chicken Boy

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2005

People/Characters

Tobin McCauley

Henry Otis (aka Tiger Woods | chicken expert)

Granny (not your usual grandmother)

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Important events

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Epigraph

Dedication

For Jack and Will

First words

You might have heard about the time my granny got arrested on the first day of school.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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Since the death of his mother, Tobin's family life and school life have been in disarray, but after he starts raising chickens with his seventh-grade classmate, Henry, everything starts to fall into place.

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I guess you can learn a lot by taking care of some chickens. That's what Henry says any way. I first met Henry in seventh grade. I had gotten into a fight, actually it was a butt-whuppin, with this other kid who said some things about Miss Thesman. Then this other kid, whose t-shirt read, I'M TIGER WOODS, jumped in. Somehow, we ended up being friends, and let me tell you, son, I never really wanted any friends. And I never thought I'd be raising chickens. In fact, my family's not to good at raising ourselves, especially since my mama died. Granny hates my daddy, can't seem to talk about him without calling him my "no-good daddy." My daddy don't spend much time at home, except in front of the television watching NASCAR. We never have any food in the house. My older brothers and sister are delinquents; so is my Granny, and everyone just expects me to end up in trouble too. But I really didn't care what those fart blowers think about me. Then social services ended up caring about what was going on in my family. And I'm telling you, son, some things just gotta change.

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