Love, Ruby Lavender, by Deborah Wiles, 2001

Where would nine year-old Ruby Lavendar be without her grandmother, Miss Eula? High and dry in Haleluia, Mississippi, that's where, spending the summer missing Miss Eula terribly, writing her letters, adn wishing she could see their chickens roosting over their eggs. And surely Miss Eula could advise Ruby on how to treat snotty Melba Jane, who keeps harping on about the accident that happened last summer. Warm, Southern, war & redemption & chickens, and a handful of characters to savor. Recommended.