Dick King-Smith was the author of many children's books about animals, including Babe the Gallant Pig, upon which the movie Babe is based. He died January of this year (2011). Pretty Polly was written in 1992 and is one of his lesser known books but is truly delightful. When Abigail is denied a pet parrot because it is too expensive, her farmer father jokes that she should teach one of their hens to talk. However, she surprises everyone by actually accomplishing it with an intellegent little chicken she calls Pretty Polly.
"Eat a Wheatabix!"
Training the bird to say "Eat a Wheatabix" while feeding it a bit of the cereal, Polly eventually learns other phrases and astounds Abigail and her whole family. While the book is clearly a fantasy, readers can't help but asking themselves if it might be possible! King-Smith writes realistically and somehow the silly pretext never seems outlandish.
After all, parrots are not the only birds able to imitate human speech. Cockatiels, parakeets, Myna birds, crows, and even common Starlings can taught to talk, and that old wive's tale about spliting their tongue is totally unnecessary (and cruel!).
Inspiration to keep chickens
Even non-talking chickens can make great pets, and chicken owners say there is a lot more to these birds than free omletes!
in 2009 Provo voted to allow chickens in residential areas, and Orem okayed urban chickens February 2010. Pleasant Grove was on the fence about it last year. Salt Lake City allows chickens, the number of hens depending on the size of your yard.You can find out more about the "Urban Chicken" movement, a popular provident living initiative, at the Urban Chickens Network. You can order many breeds, including great pets like Silkies, Cochins, Seramas, Wheaten Ameraucanas, and Austerlops, in as of small numbers as 3 chicks (many farm supply places require much bigger orders) from MyPetChicken.com.
Just remember that chicks are delicate! Children should be carefully supervised. They can also spread salmonella if you are no diligent about hand washing. And please keep in mind chickens are forever, not just for Easter! Don't give in to impulse shopping for a holiday novelty if you are not prepared to keep a living being or up to 15 years!
Pretty Polly is available online to buy and at some libraries
You can order Pretty Polly used on Amazon or as an MP3 audiobook at Barnes & Noble. Pretty Polly is avalible in the junior fiction at Provo City Library at Academy Square, and junior fiction as well as in the spoken word cassettes as an audiobook at Orem Public Library.
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