Returning to the family homestead intensifies twelve-year-old Sammy's longing for the family heritage-farming. But Dad's ultimatum, ..". no crops, no animals, no barn..." shows Dad wants nothing to do with farming, for himself or Sammy. Then why did Dad insist Sammy join a farming club? Permission slips for Ag club summer projects are due. Sammy defends his project choice with, "Technically, Dad, chickens are birds not animals." Miraculously, he wins Dad's approval. Sammy's problems begin with the early arrival of his peeps and the loss of his best pals. His ingenuity to care for his chicks, make a new friend, and design a compost bin win him a new name. His biggest challenge-can he butcher his roosters? Summer's many adventures include solving a mystery, fighting a hawk, and being disqualified at the County Fair. At the end of the project, has he won...or lost...the thing he wanted most-Dad's change of heart about farming?

Sam plots a triumphant coup for next year's County Fair exhibit-both to celebrate graduation from Middle School and to erase the disgrace of this year's disqualification. He'll raise a calf...and Mai Li will use her herbs for their joint exhibit of-cheese! Until Sam learns...it takes two years for a calf to give milk...their farm is too small to support a cow...cows don't eat goldenrod! Determined, Sam finds a way to accomplish his plan. But will he have the strength, daring, and courage it will take to raise sheep in a cow county?

Pleasants Family