I Got a Chicken for My Birthday

I Got a Chicken for My Birthday
by Laura Gehl (Author) and Sarah Horne (Illustrator)

Booktalk: What a birthday girl wants more than anything from her Abuela are tickets to the amusement park. Instead she gets a chicken. But this chicken is no ordinary chicken; it has plans! With a lot of hard work, and help from lots of other animals, this chicken may just end up building the girl the best birthday gift ever!

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Guest Post by Laura Gehl

Laura Gehl spent many happy hours reading books as a kid, and now she gets to spend many happy hours…and many frustrated, banging-her-head-against-the-wall hours…writing books for kids. Pretty much the best job ever. Except for the banging-her-head-against-the-wall part. These days, she also gets to spend many happy hours reading books to her own four kids. Which is only fair, since she gets most of her ideas from them!

Q. Describe your writing process.
A. I am constantly scribbling ideas on note pads I keep everywhere–by my bed, near the shower, in the kitchen, in my purse, and so on. I collect those scribbled thoughts and email them to myself to store in a virtual folder called “picture book ideas.” When I’m ready to start a new book, I pick an idea and plunge into writing. Sometimes it feels like I’m trudging through knee-deep mud. Those ideas get put aside. But other times, I can tell from the beginning that magic is happening. Those are the ideas worth pursuing.

The first draft is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. I write in complete isolation, but if anyone could see me typing away, I would have a huge goofy grin on my face. Then comes the hard part. Revising. Getting critiques. Trying to figure out how to fix the problems. Waiting until the perfect ending presents itself. Revising again. And again. And again. But then comes my other favorite part–when a revision truly comes together. I can feel the magic happening again, and the big goofy grin reappears.

Q. Tell us about your latest book.
A. I Got a Chicken for My Birthday is about a little girl named Ana who asks her grandmother for tickets to the amusement park. Instead, Abuela Lola sends a chicken. Ana tries to look on the bright side–fresh eggs!–but it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary chicken. This chicken has a list, and a plan. This chicken recruits Ana’s pets. This chicken is building . . .something. . .in the back yard. And this chicken might just be the best birthday gift ever!

I Got a Chicken for My Birthday started out with a chicken in a bathtub building a library. Other than the engineering chicken, everything else changed over the course of many, many revisions. But I am thrilled with how the book turned out. And Sarah Horne’s art adds so much to the spare text. My very favorite of Sarah’s touches is Ana’s hamster, who finds a large and unusual hamster wheel. I can’t tell you any more without spoiling the surprise in the book!

This is a story about not judging a book (or chicken) by its cover. About how an unexpected gift can be exactly the right gift. And about the special relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild (the book is dedicated to my in-laws, who are amazing grandparents). I hope kids will enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks for sharing your new book, Laura!
It’s so nice to “meet” you after sharing your other books:

Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching