I had a chance to speak with Amanda Maxwell, Author of The Chicken and The Dog! I wanted to tell you all about her and her book that is one of the cutest books I have ever seen. Its based on a true story too!
Amanda grew up in Connecticut and didn't have chickens but she describes her hometown as "Cow Town" so there were a lot of farms around. She ended up going to college in Arizona, where she met her husband. They both decided that the hot and dry weather wasn't for them. I totally get that. I live where its hot and humid! So, Amanda and her husband moved to a little waterfront cottage in Washington. They enjoyed that house with their dog Sean Connery. Sean is a black lab and as I understand it, he is such a great dog! When Amanda and her husband had to move to Olympia, Washington for work they went house hunting. Here begins the story of the Chicken and the Dog!
Sean the Dog and a Chicken
While looking in Olympia for a house, they found the perfect one. The only catch was that the sign in front of the house said "Backyard Chickens" The house that they found, came with two chickens that resided in the greenhouse! Everyone they knew were warning them about Sean and the chickens. Saying to be careful that their dog didnt hurt the chickens. Once they moved in and got accustomed to having chickens and learning about them, they realized that Crimson and Clover were using the window box right outside their back door to lay their eggs! How neat is that? Amanda could open up her back door and reach into the box!
Sean and Crimson and Clover all freaked out about each other for about a week when they moved in. After about a week, the Chickens and the Dog were the best of friends! They lived as a happy family for a few years and the chickens lived in their greenhouse. Amanda and her husband decided they would build the chickens a coop. Once the little coop was built, they heard a noise one night. It was 3am. They went back to sleep.The very next night Amanda thought she heard a chicken out of the coop. She didnt think anything of it until about 5 minutes later when she heard a huge crash! She ran into her bedroom to look out the window to the chicken coop and a
raccoon was staring back at her. They were devastated. Clover had been able to get away, but Crimson, poor thing, all that was left was feathers.
The next day as they headed to work they were both just really bummed out. The chickens that had become part of their family had been attacked and they lost one. Amanda's husband texted her that day and said " I want to write a children's book about the chickens" That was the beginning of The Chicken and The Dog. The thing they had to figure out was how were they gonna make it child friendly when one of the chickens had died. I cant give it away, you will have to read the book to find out!!
They initially contacted Jill Carter to do artwork for the book because Amanda's husband had worked with her and knew she was a wonderful artist. She agreed to the the artwork. In my opinion, I am really glad that Jill agreed to draw the characters because they are perfect!
Amanda and her husband originally had made the book for Christmas presents for friends and family but the story needed to be shared. Its a wonderful story and I now read it to my son, Ian, who is 4 yrs old, every night before bed. He asks me every night if we can read the story with the red chickens.
Andre, Amanda and their son.
Amanda loves getting together with other chicken people and talking. Whether it be on the phone, in email, or in person. Who wouldn't like talking to chicken people! We are awesome! She and her husband replaced Crimson and also have added
another chicken to their flock. She is a silver laced Wyandotte and they named her Ms. Money-penny. Amanda is working on a second book too! I personally cant wait to get a copy of it. I expect that this book will go places.
Contact The Chicken and The Dog
The Chicken and The Dog On Facebook
Buy The Book:
TheChickenandTheDog.com
Amanda grew up in Connecticut and didn't have chickens but she describes her hometown as "Cow Town" so there were a lot of farms around. She ended up going to college in Arizona, where she met her husband. They both decided that the hot and dry weather wasn't for them. I totally get that. I live where its hot and humid! So, Amanda and her husband moved to a little waterfront cottage in Washington. They enjoyed that house with their dog Sean Connery. Sean is a black lab and as I understand it, he is such a great dog! When Amanda and her husband had to move to Olympia, Washington for work they went house hunting. Here begins the story of the Chicken and the Dog!
Sean the Dog and a Chicken
While looking in Olympia for a house, they found the perfect one. The only catch was that the sign in front of the house said "Backyard Chickens" The house that they found, came with two chickens that resided in the greenhouse! Everyone they knew were warning them about Sean and the chickens. Saying to be careful that their dog didnt hurt the chickens. Once they moved in and got accustomed to having chickens and learning about them, they realized that Crimson and Clover were using the window box right outside their back door to lay their eggs! How neat is that? Amanda could open up her back door and reach into the box!
Sean and Crimson and Clover all freaked out about each other for about a week when they moved in. After about a week, the Chickens and the Dog were the best of friends! They lived as a happy family for a few years and the chickens lived in their greenhouse. Amanda and her husband decided they would build the chickens a coop. Once the little coop was built, they heard a noise one night. It was 3am. They went back to sleep.The very next night Amanda thought she heard a chicken out of the coop. She didnt think anything of it until about 5 minutes later when she heard a huge crash! She ran into her bedroom to look out the window to the chicken coop and a
raccoon was staring back at her. They were devastated. Clover had been able to get away, but Crimson, poor thing, all that was left was feathers.
The next day as they headed to work they were both just really bummed out. The chickens that had become part of their family had been attacked and they lost one. Amanda's husband texted her that day and said " I want to write a children's book about the chickens" That was the beginning of The Chicken and The Dog. The thing they had to figure out was how were they gonna make it child friendly when one of the chickens had died. I cant give it away, you will have to read the book to find out!!
They initially contacted Jill Carter to do artwork for the book because Amanda's husband had worked with her and knew she was a wonderful artist. She agreed to the the artwork. In my opinion, I am really glad that Jill agreed to draw the characters because they are perfect!
Amanda and her husband originally had made the book for Christmas presents for friends and family but the story needed to be shared. Its a wonderful story and I now read it to my son, Ian, who is 4 yrs old, every night before bed. He asks me every night if we can read the story with the red chickens.
Andre, Amanda and their son.
Amanda loves getting together with other chicken people and talking. Whether it be on the phone, in email, or in person. Who wouldn't like talking to chicken people! We are awesome! She and her husband replaced Crimson and also have added
another chicken to their flock. She is a silver laced Wyandotte and they named her Ms. Money-penny. Amanda is working on a second book too! I personally cant wait to get a copy of it. I expect that this book will go places.
Contact The Chicken and The Dog
The Chicken and The Dog On Facebook
Buy The Book:
TheChickenandTheDog.com
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