My Chickens and I: An Illustrated Guide

by Isabella Rossellini, Patrice Casanova (Photographs)

In this delightful illustrated book, actress and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini shares her newfound passion for raising chickens. When a cardboard carton dotted with airholes arrived at her door, Rossellini expected to welcome 38 yellow chicks to her Long Island farm. Much to her surprise, her newly hatched brood included a diverse mix of heritage breeds—a discovery that prompted further research into the traits, behavior, and history of each one. Perfectly capturing the fine-feathered glory and surprising intelligence of these spirited backyard birds, My Chickens and I pairs Patrice Casanova’s photographs with Rossellini’s wry observations, fun facts, and hand-drawn illustrations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Childrens, Nature, Memoir, Animals

112 pages, Hardcover

Published March 13, 2018

About the author

Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her brief career as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.

Reviews

[Ruthi]

just a really wholesome and charming book about isabella rossellini adopting some chickens, with doodles and photographs of them, along with explaining heritage chickens. i picked this up at a bookstore forever ago and was charmed by it. sitting down and reading it was just as wholesome. a book full of chicken pictures is the soft and wholesome content i need in 2020.

[Knihobotka Julča]

Neřekla bych že toto bude moje první kniha v angličtině, ale když už ji Ježíšek přinesl tak jsem si ji rovnou přečetla. Doporučuji pro ty který chovají slepice tak jako já, ale i pro ty kteří se rádi dozvídají nové informace a nejsou spokojeni s klecovým chovem. Knížka je doplněna nádhernými fotkami a ilustracemi, které doplňují stručný ale naučný text.

[Patrizia]

Wunderschöne Zeichnungen und interessante Details über Hühner

[Piers]

Best book of 2018 imo

[Sabra Kurth]

This was such a lovely little read—cute little drawings, photos, fun facts. So glad I picked it up.

[velma]

Literally the cutest thing I've ever read.

[Lindsay]

A very entertaining and informative family read. Even members of the Toddler Set will appreciate the lovely chicken photos and sketches. Isabella Rossellini is now working to complete her masters degree in animal behavior and has a road show called Link Link Circus that helps explain cognition in animals.
She is a role model for aging with grace!

[Kristin]

This was incredibly charming! And I learned things.

[Jeimy]

Isabella Rosellini offers random musings about chickens in general as well as her own chickens.

[Kirby Rock]

This is an interesting book. It’s not about animal rights. It’s about biodiversity, using heritage chickens as a vehicle for explaining evolution and the effects of industrial animal farming. I feel like different people can take different things from reading this. For me, it reinforces that chickens are creatures with personalities and intelligence, and you shouldn’t eat them. But that’s not really the message of the book, and I don’t think Isabella Rossellini is even vegetarian. Anyway, I would say this is a wholesome little book with some basic explanations about animal behavior and conservation, charming illustrations, and beautiful photos of unique chickens living happy lives.

[Miriam Kahn]

An adorable book filled with line drawing and pictures of chickens, chicks, roosters, and more.

Follow Isabella Rossellini as she gets chicks in the mail, raises them, and harvests their eggs. You'll learn all about chickens, more than you ever wanted to know.

Thanks to a friend who lent me this charming book.

[Shanna]

It is for adults, but seemed more like a children's book. There's an illustration of some dogs mating, so depending on who you are, you may or may not want to let your kids read it. It is slightly informative, and a fun quick read, but I wouldn't really recommend it because it doesn't really fit in a category.

[Evelyn]

This is a charming book about the author’s chickens. It is filled with lovely photos of the chickens. It also includes drawings that accompany fun facts about the history and behavior of chickens.

[Cheryl]

Earthy, quirky collection of photos, drawings, humor, chicken facts, info about breed evolution. A strong, accessible testament to the need for genetic diversity. So fun!

[Brooke]

Best birthday present ever!

[Rowan]

Not a lot of substance, but very charming.

[Kim Johnson]

A friend picked up this book for me as a gift - wonderful photographs and amazing information about chickens!

[Marina]

So sweet and just a great and informational book!!!

[Ruth]

I loved the photos, but she didn't tell us any information about her chickens and what it's like to raise them. Disappointing.

[Bill Arning]

A very slight but charming book, and since most people who have not had chickens don’t understand their charms it’s very educational

[Alexis Monti]

Super cute book! Loved the illustrations and photos. Learned a lot about chickens!

I don’t own chickens but I think this book has planted the seed

[Nikki]

Very short. Mostly photos and doodle-like drawings. A short romp into the world of owning chickens.

[Ashley]

This was a super informative and interesting book.

[Sonya]

Basically a short picture book with photos and illustrations of/by Isabella Rossellini of her chickens. It gives facts and stories about chickens. A delightful book for chicken lovers of all ages.

[Judy]

I really liked the book, but it also took me 10mins to read.
It is very cute, but not that informative. Borrow from the library kind of book.

[Christina]

Well this was just lovely.

[Laura Macedo]

Um livro sobre galinhas. Meio infantil, com desenhos graciosos e fotografias lindas. Bem divertido e prazeroso, eu adorei.

[Melissa]

I am giving 2 stars because the pictures are cute and I have chickens and know how difficult it can be to catch them still enough to photograph. The doodles & sketches are also quite cute - my daughter & I enjoyed looking at them. The book was boring and really spent more pages on the evolution of animals than on actual chicken ownership/raising/enjoying that I had hope to read about.

[Kathy]

Charming little book about chickens with great illustrations and photos.

[Sam]

There’s something incredibly pleasant and soothing about the simplicity of this book. The drawings are just as good as the photographs.