The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure
Gr 1–3—Those cheeky chicks are back—this time in a series all their own. Fresh on the heels of their adventures in The Trouble with Chickens (2011) and The Legend of Diamond Lil (2012, both HarperCollins), Dirt, Sugar, Sweetie, and Poppy must now contend with a cowardly squirrel named Tail and a "big and scary" something that has landed in the backyard. Using deductive reasoning and some strangely creative camouflage, the chickens hatch a plan to investigate the mysterious object. The curmudgeonly ex-police dog, J.J. Tully, lends his deadpan observations to the humorous text, while Cornell's black-and-white illustrations bring Cronin's oddball characters to life with a goofy charm. Kids who enjoyed the first two books in the "J.J. Tully Mysteries" series will be delighted that the four intrepid chicks take center stage in this laugh-out-loud new chapter book series.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal