The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure

     It seems year after year, the biggest struggle I have with my classroom library is finding new, high interest, beginning chapter books for my struggling readers. This is why I was delighted yesterday to find Doreen Cronin's newest creation, The Chicken Squad. 

     With the distinctive voice found in her earlier, CLICK, CLACK, MOO Cows That Type, Cronin's book had me chuckling the whole way through. And who doesn't love a good chicken book? I mean really, a chicken on the cover is an automatic selling point for me! Well, these chickens do not disappoint.

   Dirt, Sugar, Poppy, and Sweetie join forces with J.J. Tully, a retired search-and-rescue hound, to solve a backyard mystery.  Tail comes to The Chicken Squad with a mystery of an unknown object in the backyard. The chickens quickly realize that there is more than Tail's tail at stake! They band together to protect the yard from this new invader. In the mists of an adventure, their new "client", Tail, gets an expanded vocabulary, a fantastic action sequence, and a few new friends.

  The second I finished this book, I knew exactly which students I wanted to hand it off to. So many of my third grade readers will benefit from the short chapters, supporting pictures, and new vocabulary this story is bound to introduce.

   Luckily, I do not have too long to wait until the next installment. The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken: The Next Misadventure will hit stores in September. Perfect timing for my next bunch of kiddos!