Welcome to the Back Matter Break Down! I am so excited to share this interview today because we’re talking about a book that sits in one of my favorite types of stories: a mix of fact and fiction! I love when these lines get blurred because it always leads to lots of curious questions and gets readers excited to learn more. And don’t forget to read all the way to the end of the post so you can enter today’s giveaway! Let’s go!
Book: Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken
Author: Kimberly Tso
Illustrator: Louie Chin
Publisher / Year: Third State Books, 2025
Genre: Fiction
Topics: Animals, New York City, Chinatown, History, Asian American History
Blurb: New York City is not a great place for a chicken to live. It’s crowded and loud and busy. But you can find the city’s most famous chicken, Lillie, a.k.a. the Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken, in Chinatown.
When tourists ask, “Where’s the Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken?” locals point them to a video-game arcade on Mott Street, where Lillie plays games of tic-tac-toe against anyone who wants to play against her. But eight-year-old Beatrice worries that the dark arcade is just not a good place for Lillie to live. She devises a clever plan: She will challenge the arcade’s Big Boss in a game of tic-tac-toe. Will Beatrice win Lillie’s freedom?
Book Word Count: 679
What is your back matter word count?
284 words
At what phase of the process did you decide your book needed back matter?
It was always evident that my book needed back matter, because the notion that there was a real chicken that could play tic-tac-toe was fantastical enough that it demanded explanation and context.
What kind of research did you do for the back matter?
I incorporated the research that I did for the book itself. Mostly it was reading through old newspaper articles written about the Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken, watching videos and documentaries created about it, and reading blog posts online that had been written.
What was the earliest version of the back matter like?
The original and the final versions were very close to each other. What changed was the opening paragraph where I wanted to explain in an accessible way why and how authors take inspiration from truth, and which parts of this story were real and which were made up.
Was there more information that you wanted to include in the back matter but didn’t make the cut?
There was more information that I could have included, but was not convinced should go in. For example, there is some discrepancy about how willingly the arcade owner gave up the chicken. The activists say that he did it because they asked nicely and he prayed on it, but the family of the arcade owner says that he was pressured unfairly. I didn’t want to distract from the point of the back matter (which was to clarify what was true and what was fiction), so I just left those details out.
How did you choose the photos that went into the back matter and were you involved in the process of securing them?
Yes, I was involved in the process of securing them. We had very few to be able to choose from, because we were unable to contact the sources. I wanted to include photos of the chicken, but most of the photos we could find were poor quality, unattributed, or we could not contact the source. Images abound online, but I think that reproducing them in a YouTube video is different than publishing them in a book for sale, so we really needed the proper permissions.
Of the photos that went in, one came from the Museum of the Chinese in America’s archival collection, and it was from inside the Chinatown Fair arcade itself, where the chicken lived. The contemporary photo was taken by a photographer hired by my publisher.
Thank you, Kimberly! I love your approach to giving readers the tools they need as they read a mix of fact and fiction! Please support Kimberly:
- Tic-Tac-Toe Chicken is available :
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Bookshop (online indie bookstores)
- Third State Books:
- Once Upon a Time: (for signed, personalized copies)
Now for the giveaway!
Kimberly Tso has generously offered a free signed book and special book swag to one lucky winner! To enter: leave one comment on this blog post by Monday, September 1 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. For additional entries, leave a comment on my (Judy’s) BlueSky and/or Instagram posts about this post for a maximum of 2 bonus entries. (Remember to check back on this blog post and social media to see if you are selected as a winner!)
Thank you for reading!
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Judy Campbell-Smith 
I think fact vs. fiction is a super interesting backmatter choice! I always have to go look up what’s true after reading a book or watching a movie. Congratulations!
This really looks like a fun topic for a book and I always enjoy interesting back matter. When I was a child I rarely read back matter, but once I was a teacher, I have devoured it. I’m looking forward to reading this one. 🙂
Factual fiction is one of our family’s favorite types of picture books, especially when a chicken is involved! This looks wonderful, can’t wait to read it!!
Congrats! You are the winner of the giveaway! I’ll be in touch with details soon!