The Trouble with Chickens

Cronin, best known for her witty barnyard picture books, Click, Clack, Moo and its successors, brings her droll humor to the chapter book set with great success. After seven years as a search-and-rescue dog, J.J. Tully (possibly a German shepherd) has been rewarded with retirement in the country. Though he puts on airs, recalling "a parade in my honor after I pulled three tornado victims out from under a mountain of debris," he grudgingly agrees to help a mother hen find her two missing chicks (in exchange for a cheeseburger). Behind his hard-boiled persona, J.J. has some genuine detective smarts, but he faces a formidable foe in Vince the Funnel, the "inside" dog, who looks "like a cross between a dachshund and a lamp" (he's wearing a cone-shaped collar due to an ear infection). Fast-paced and funny, with interesting vocabulary and a well-constructed plot, this is terrific fare for readers who are ready to move beyond picture books, but are intimidated by longer works. Cornell's pencil drawings have a mix of energy and humor that adds to the fun. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)