A captivating testament to the mutual rewards and delights of keeping chickens, by the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Flower Yard

Most of us want a dog, or a cat, or a pony when we are young – but for Arthur Parkinson, it was always hens. Growing up in an ex-mining town in Nottinghamshire, the other kids in the playground called him 'Chicken Boy'. The quiet fulfilment of keeping hens became his sanctuary, a tonic for mental and physical health, a connection with his family and the natural world. Illustrated with Arthur's own characterful watercolours and photographs of his ‘girls’, Chicken Boy is a one-of-a-kind memoir of a life in nature.

"Poetic... Parkinson writes with great lyricism... His knowledgeable enthusiasm is infectious" - Sunday Times

"An author whose writing is as unashamedly ebullient as his dazzling displays" - Gardens Illustrated