A whirlwind of weirdness that portends more peculiar fun in series installments to come.
Funky chickens futz with the universe.
One night, while giving chickens Nugget and Tenders their Super-Big Serum, slightly mad scientist Dr. Dipping-Sauce accidentally administers a Super-Smart Serum instead. Suddenly conscious, the pair escape their cage to explore the Super-Secret Lab. They discover that the doctor is in league with Big Chicken to create a “mindless edible chicken army”; soon after, they happen upon the Time-Travel Lab and are transported to the late Cretaceous. Their guide to the past is a Triceratops who’s on the run from a hungry T. rex. Broad-chested, bighearted Tenders wants to return home to save the chicks still in captivity at the Super-Secret Lab, but savvy Nugget realizes their time-travel craft might allow them to alter history in chickenkind’s favor (“We went from king of the dinosaurs…to dino nuggies”). Between these feisty fowls, dinos, info on the arc of avian evolution, and Dr. Dipping-Sauce’s self-assembled Super Suction Time Toilet, there’s more than enough here to make one’s head spin. Young readers hungry for humor will giggle at sight gags and revel in the duo’s absurd escapades. Windness’ illustrations play an essential role: The adorable animal heroes clash visually with a handful of off-kilter humans of various skin tones, and the bold red of the chickens’ beaks, wattles, and combs adds a dramatic dash of color to detailed grayscale cartooning.
A whirlwind of weirdness that portends more peculiar fun in series installments to come. (Graphic science fiction. 6-10)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9781665982863
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
