CHICKEN BEAKS: GROWING UP HISPANIC, tells a story about family, religion, and values. The setting is northern New Mexico during the late 1950's and early 60's. Told in first person, using dialogue sprinkled with Spanish, each event comes alive as told through the eyes of a child. Every chapter has an underlying lesson mixing humor, love and drama. Though Hispanic in flavor, the vignettes have universal appeal. Portions have appeared in Reminisce and Sun magazines. This book is written for older children and adults. Hispanics account for 35.3 million people in the United States, and census figures show a 60 percent growth in the last decade. Cultural similarities that exist among Hispanics include a strong commitment to traditional values such as family, religion and heritage. While the common language, Spanish, is regionalized, the need to learn English is a binding tie. Hispanics are notorious for learning to read by employing humor. That explains the high sales of comic books in Mexican and South American markets. Even so, there is a shortage of Hispanic writers. CHICKEN BEAKS: GROWING UP HISPANIC developed from the stories the author told his children about his life. What people are saying about CHICKEN BEAKS: GROWING UP HISPANIC "Many parents like myself, forget there were happy childhoods without Game Boys, cartoon networks and Beanie Babies. Fresno resident Ben Romero recounts such a childhood in "Chicken Beaks: Growing up Hispanic" The book is filled with stories about life in the village of Nambe, N.M., which had a populations of fewer than 300 when Romero was a child. "Romero could have titled his collection of stories "What Are You Doing?" That often was his mother's refrain after, just in the nick of time, finding her boys on the verge of doing something that could have caused serious injury." Mary Lou Aguirre, Fresno Bee

In the 1960's a depressed economy in the southwestern United States created an accelerated migration to California. Countless families pulled up stakes and looked with hope toward a land where jobs were plentiful and food affordable. Despite the trials and struggles, families found humor in everyday life. Unity became the foundation for strength and survival. This book retraces experiences of a Hispanic family leaving New Mexico and relocating in California. THE LAND OF GOLD On Labor Day weekend of 1968 my family traveled toward a dream we believed would be found or made in the land of gold. I had lived my entire life in Northern New Mexico and never traveled more than 150 miles in any direction. My parents had suffered a few financial setbacks and my father and eighteen year-old brother, Louie went to California to find work. Two months later, my father returned for the rest of the family. My two younger brothers were soon asleep with the hum of the motor and movement of the car. My seventeen year-old sister, Marcella was irritable, but quiet. It had been a tiring day, renting and hitching the tiny U-haul trailer and stuffing our belongings, before driving three hours to the airport to pick up Dad. He had worked in the morning and taken a late flight from San Francisco to Albuquerque. "How long will we be on the road?" asked Marcella. "We should be in San Jose by Monday morning," said Dad. It was a long trip, compounded by the slow speed we were forced to travel. The U-haul had signs painted on all sides that read 45 MPH. Dad violated the limit most of the time, but not by much. Although there were six of us in the car, we were not crammed. Joseph, being only three, sat in front, between my parents. There were no seat belts to worry about at the time, so he was able to stretch out and sleep. "Mejór ladeate (You'd better pull over)," said Mom, when she noticed the car weaving. Dad drove the car off the shoulder of the highway where we'd be safe from traffic. "Are we going to sleep in the car?" I asked. "No," said Dad. "Vámos a sacar un colchón (Let's pull out a mattress)." Dad and I unlocked the trailer and tossed a twin-size mattress on the ground. The night was dark, but warm and comfortable. The only noise was the occasional sound of passing cars. We stretched out, with a thin blanket and a couple of pillows. The rest of the family stayed in the car. Dad shook me. "Vámos (Let's go)." I felt a chill as Dad pulled off the blanket. I wanted to sleep longer. The darkness was disappearing. "Ahorita paramos a comer (We'll stop to eat soon)," said Dad, starting the motor and pulling onto the highway. I envied Johnny and Joseph for their peaceful sleep. Marcella was curled up like a possum. "Give me room," I said, claiming space with my elbows. "Why don't you ride in the trailer?" grunted Marcella. Dad looked at us through the rear-view mirror and I held my tongue. Although I was nearly sixteen years old, I knew better than to make Dad angry. A few miles inside Arizona, we stopped at a service station. It had clean restrooms and an outside picnic table. We enjoyed Mom's baloney and green chile sandwiches and apples we'd picked from the trees back home. The morning chill gave way to a harsh sun. "We have to get moving," said Dad. "We'll rest later, when the day gets hot." We had never owned a vehicle with air conditioning and had never missed it - until now. The mid-afternoon sun beat on the car, threatening to melt the windows. "It's like an oven in here," said Marcella. She rolled down her window and a gush of hot air assaulted us like a torch. "Close it!" cackled Johnny. At eight years of age, his shrill voice annoyed everybody. I had my shirt unbuttoned and wat

Kathy Shea Mormino, aka The Chicken Chick, shares her wealth of experience as a chicken keeper in a fun and abundantly illustrated format in The Chicken Chick's Guide to Backyard Chickens.

Practical how-to advice for raising chickens in virtually any backyard! Raising chickens on a small scale is a popular–and growing–pastime. And Raising Chickens For Dummies provides an up-to-date, thorough introduction to all aspects of caring for chickens, including choosing and purchasing chickens, constructing housing, and proper feeding. Raising Chickens For Dummies provides authoritative, detailed information to make raising chickens for eggs, meat, or backyard entertainment that much easier.

Practical how-to advice for keeping chickens "For me, raising chickens, for eggs and meat, has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of our family farm. I am a great admirer of "chicken whisperer" Pammy Riggs, and with her two co-authors she has produced an admirably thorough guide to enjoying the pleasures and avoiding the pitfalls of keeping chickens. Get the book, and take the feathery plunge!" - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Keeping Chickens For Dummies provides you with an introduction to all aspects of keeping chickens, from constructing a hutch to the correct feeding regime. It offers expert advice straight from the River Cottage ‘Chicken Whisperer', so whether you're looking to raise chickens for eggs, meat, or just the entertainment value and fun - Keeping Chickens For Dummies is the perfect place to start. Keeping Chickens For Dummies: Shows you how to keep chickens in different conditions Offers guidance on choosing and purchasing chickens Gives great step-by-step advice on constructing the right housing Provides expert advice on how to feed and care for your chickens

A guide to raising one chicken or one hundred. It features topics from starting a backyard flock to putting eggs on the table.

The two-headed chicken is back, with twice the adventure, twice the jokes, and a lot more heads (wait, did they just accidentally turn into a double-headed space snake?). Having lost the Astrocap™ somewhere in the multiverse, our intrepid hero dons the Timecap™ to scour the timestream, which looks a lot like broccoli, in search of it. But danger and drama await with every time-hopping POOZB! of the Timecap™, including hungry dinosaurs, fierce werewolves, poet Emily Dickinson, a fish with a mustache who wants to talk about feelings, and even the return of the chicken’s archenemy, Kernel Antlers, the shape-shifting moose! With lively art and quirky nods to history and literature, readers will be swept along for oodles of zany escapades—and brought into the book itself through games, puzzles, drawing activities, and even as a vital character. Tom Angleberger’s absurdist humor shines on every page of this nonstop ride.