Book Cover:
Book Summary: J.J. Tully is enjoying a lazy day when some chickens run into some trouble. A mother chicken can’t find a couple of her baby chicks who’ve been kidnapped it seems. Tully who at one point was an impressive rescue dog with great stories from his past seems over qualified for this task and has a bit of an attitude about helping the family of chickens. He quickly finds clues including a note that lead him to the indoor dog, Vince the Funnel. The plot gets thicker as the remaining baby chicks disappear and the true reasons for their disappearance is revealed. Tully is the true target of the antagonist, Vince, and it appears the chicks were helping Vince all along. Tully relies on his rescue dog days and the help of the chickens to narrowly escape his entrapment by Vince. New and unexpected friendships are formed in the end.
APA Reference:
Cronin, D. (2011). The trouble with chickens. New York, NY: Balzer + Bray.
Impressions:
The story was told in the clever voice that is reminiscent of old detective movies. The animal characters definitely will appeal to the intended upper-elementary school readers. The growing conflicts as the plot thickens keep the reader turning the pages and Kevin Cornell’s cartoon illustrations of the characters are hilarious. I enjoyed the story but did get a bit confused when Cronin switched the narration from Tully to Vince and back. After the first couple of times, it was easy to identify who was speaking but I think it might be even more difficult for younger readers to avoid the confusion. I wished to know even more about Tully’s days as a search and rescue dog and hope there is a story written (or will be) to tell more of his tale.
Professional Review:
Ilene Cooper comments, “J. J. Tully, a former search-and-rescue dog, is supposed to be resting and relaxing after a noble career. But he is hardly settled into his new home before a mama chick named Mildred wants him to find two of her brood that have gone missing. Tully’s willing to take on the case for a hamburger, but a ransom note soon complicates things, and a house dog, Vince the Funnel (for the contraption wrapped around his head), is out to make sure that he is not the canine going to the vet to get tubes in his ears. The plot is a bit convoluted, and when the narrator changes in the middle of the book, even experienced readers might be confused. But the noirlike detective Tully and the funny chickens running around, well, like chickens make appealing characters, especially as drawn by Cornell, who knows how to get TV cartoon–style humor out of the action. Readers can expect to see more of Tully at work in future installments of this new series.”
Cooper, I. (2011, February 1). The trouble with chickens by Doreen Cronin. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com/The-Trouble-with-Chickens-Doreen- Cronin/pid=4307323?pid=4307323
Library Use:
I can see this book being featured in a quick book talk at a library that could inspire readers to look for other J.J. Tully adventures and explore the mystery genre. The librarian could have a magnifying glass to get the story started and let the audience help guess how the conflict will be resolved. The librarian could use this experience to help readers learn to find books in the library. The readers could then pretend to be detectives on their own and search for specific mystery books using the Dewey decimal system.
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