It started with an idea.

In the spring of 2023, I set up an incubator in the school library and led our entire campus through the 28-day journey of a duckling’s development and hatch, sharing updates through live-streamed announcements.

During this time, a random idea struck me—to build them a tiny swimming pool and capture videos and pictures of the ducklings having a pool party.

The kids LOVED it! It became the talk of the school, and one sweet kiddo said, “Mrs. Haby, you should write a book about the duck pool party!”

That very night, I woke up with the title Chicken Chores placed on my heart. By the time my alarm went off the next morning, I had a rough manuscript and storyboard sketched out on paper.

Then came the work.

I spent every spare minute I had during school breaks and in the evenings after my kids went to bed on bringing this idea to life.

Words: I focused on creating a story that kids could truly connect with—something playful and engaging. I experimented with syllables, rhymes, and rhythm to make the text fun to read aloud.

Scenes: Since I was going down the “realistic” illustrative path of photographing live animals rather than drawing them, I had to really think outside the box. I handcrafted miniature 1:12 scale scenes, carefully designing each detail to feel as lifelike and immersive as possible.

The next step was photographs.

I may have won a UIL photography contest in 8th grade, but I knew I needed to call in a professional to get high quality images of fast moving chicks in detailed scenes. Thankfully one of my high school best friends was beyond excited to help and is the owner of Country Grace Photography. It took two separate full days of shooting, thousands of images, and a lot of trial and error for us to capture the images you see in the book. And no, they are not photoshopped, the props are held up with a tiny piece of wire over the chicks back. What you see is the result of just letting the chicks explore and then adjusting the words to match the image.

Then came more work, along with a publication date.

After the two photo shoots, I had to rework every part of the book—aligning the text, adjusting the images, and fine-tuning the details—to ensure the story I envisioned truly came to life. Along the way, I taught myself an incredible number of new skills across multiple areas and was able to transform this unexpected idea from my imagination into an actual book with an official publication date of May 6, 2025.

As a mom of two voracious readers and a former elementary educator and school librarian for 16 years, I’ve seen firsthand what kinds of books kids naturally gravitate toward when they browse the shelves. Many children are drawn to picture books illustrated with photographs, yet surprisingly few exist. I saw an opportunity to fill this gap in the genre, blending my love for farm animals with a storytelling style that captivates both kids and chicken enthusiasts of all ages.

I hope you love it.

I hope your kids love it.

I hope you share it so others can love it too.