April Showers Bring May… Chickens?

“Chick Days” at MCL Teaches Practical Skills & Biology Concepts Leading Up to the 2026 Summer Reading Program: Unearth a Story

Manchester Community Library is gearing up for a dinosaur-themed summer reading program with the closest living relative of the Tyrannosaurus Rex – the chicken. Thanks to a grant from the Children’s Literacy Foundation, “Chick Days at MCL” will lead program participants through the stages of hatching eggs with hands-on workshops and chicken-themed story times, all while a dozen eggs incubate in the Children’s Library. The workshops will take place on each Saturday in May and will be led by Children’s Library Assistant and chicken farmer Karen Huerta.

The “Chick Days at MCL” program aims to spark curiosity and build background knowledge on animal lifecycles and farming. Across the four Saturday workshops, children and families will participate in the Library’s “brooding” process. Participants will dissect raw eggs, assemble and learn to use egg candlers, build a brooder box, and finally meet the newly hatched chicks. Karen and Youth Services Librarian Carson Schafer worked together to develop the workshop series. Their goal is to walk participants through the changes happening inside the eggs and the factors necessary for incubation to succeed.

The workshop schedule will be as follows:

Saturday, May 9, 12:00 pm – Meet the Eggs
Saturday, May 16, 11:00 am – Egg Candling
Saturday, May 23, 11:00 am – Build a Brooder Box
Saturday, May 30, 11:00 am – Meet the Chicks

Each workshop will begin with a short story time, featuring picture books such as Shake a Legg, Egg by Kurt Cyrus, and The Problem with Chickens by Bruce McMillan. “Beginning each workshop with a book and creating a display around the incubator will reinforce the idea of books as a way to find answers to questions,” says Carson. “Even the premise – linking the T. rex to chickens – is guaranteed to raise questions about evolution, life cycles, and biology. Curious minds will find answers right on our shelves, or through our digital resources.” They will host a special “Chick Days” story time during the regular preschool story time on Tuesday, May 12, at 10:30 am.

The program will also reward reading for all ages. Patrons will be able to suggest potential chick names when they submit short reviews of books they have read. This initiative will be a fun way to promote literacy, allowing even those unable to attend the workshops to take part in the program and feel connected to the growing chicks.

Following the program, the chicks will settle in at their permanent home with Karen at Flower Brook Cottage in Pawlet, with the promise that they will keep in touch and send updates to the community that helped hatch them. All are invited to meet the fertilized eggs at the first “Chick Days” workshop on Saturday, May 9, at noon in the MCL Children’s Library.