Mary Jane Auch

Henrietta the chicken loves to read so much that she decides to write a book herself, but first no one will publish a book written by a chicken, and then, when she publishes it herself and it gets a terrible review in "The Corn Book," Henrietta is devastated.

When Lance, a very pretentious turkey, arrives on the farm and boasts that he is the only bird invited to a special feast, no hen is impressed, but when Beauty learns that Lance is the main course, she convinces the others to save him.

Henrietta is a reader and a writer, unusual traits for a chicken, but when her book is published and she is invited to the Children's Book Festival, only the local librarian believes she is the author.

Branded the class loser, twelve-year-old Basil reluctantly becomes friends with a bossy new girl who, like Basil, has synesthesia and comes to Basil's aid when his estranged mother returns and turns his life upside down.