Business chickens by Jess McGeachin

A fable for our modern times with chickens going to work, crowding the city streets like the John Brack painting: Collins Street 5pm, (1955)

At work they do all that is expected: they arrive on time, they are neat and take their work seriously, all except for one. Fran did not emulate her coworkers. She was never on time, wore brightly coloured scarves, and certainly did not take her work seriously. She shared treats, told jokes, and did not obey the rules, getting her noticed by the supervisor. Given another chance she had to work twice as hard to catch up, often working late into the night. But this did not work and she was still laid off. She had to reassess her good points and she might not be like the other chickens, but she could cook and loved treats, so opened a sweet shop to which all the chickens came to marvel at her treats, and listen to her jokes and spy her brightly coloured scarves. She was a marvellous business chicken after all.

A wonderful fable about finding your place, of looking out for your positive  abilities, of not being one in a crowd, will thrill younger readers as they watch Fran come into her own. She rejects being an average chook and steps out to try something different.

I love the illustrations, with a nod to the painting of Collins St, using the same colours to reprise the image of men going to and then returning form work. And the dark Hopper style images of the city and the offices contrast visibly with those of Fran and her sweet shop, so light and bright. The end papers show a page of ties and one scarf but the last end paper shows the opposite. The last double page gives kids a recipe to follow and I am sure many classes will try out this delicious sweet, Brownies, to eat while they read the story of finding your own path in life.

Themes: Work, Business, Dreams, Aspirations.

Fran Knight