A good website for looking at various breeds, including histories, descriptions, etc is www.feathersite.com (an American-based site, but with contributors from all over the world).
I've been keeping chooks for over 20 years now, and have tried more than 20 breeds over that time period. The ones I've stuck with here are Dorkings, Aracaunas, Silver and Gold Campines (jury's still out on them, though; I haven't had them long enough, but so far, I'm liking them), and Silkies. The Silkies are just about as mellow a chook as you can get, they are curious, quiet, don't mind being handled and are reasonably good layers. Plus, they just look cool.
All chooks have the potential of making good pets as well, but they really have to be handled from hatching. My daughter (she's 11 now) makes a point of handling ALL chicks hatched, and has even hand-reared more than 100 over the last year. The hand-reared ones are by far the most tame and social with people (most of them, even as adults, will walk right up and wait to be picked up and petted).
I got my first chooks when I was 8 years old, and I was hooked from then on even though there were a number of years when I couldn't have any. I never get tired of the chicks running around, and the crowing I never even notice (not to the point where it's bothersome anyway). But we don't live in town, we live in the country).
So, go for it!
Cheers
Andrea
NZ