Ghost Chickens: Omelet from the Other Side

by Adi Rule, Joëlle Dreidemy (Illustrator)

After eating a glowing green egg, aspiring journalist Florence Fortescue can suddenly see that her house is overrun with ghost chickens in this delightfully bizarre and hilarious first book of a new early middle-grade series for readers aged 8 to 12!

Eleven-year-old aspiring journalist Florence Fortescue did NOT want to move to the country, leaving her best friend and city life behind.

To make matters worse, Florence is shocked to discover a Minions-esque flock of ghost chickens running amok all over her new house — and her parents are oblivious! Clearly, Mom and Dad need to take their precious daughter back to the city RIGHT NOW. If only she could convince them . . .

Using her journalistic skills, Florence cooks up a sizzling exposé in her homemade newspaper: TERROR IN THE HAUNTED COOP! But when that plan fails, Florence has to enlist the help of her weird new neighbor, two bizarre dogs and maybe even the ghost chickens themselves!

Genres: Middle Grade

208 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 1, 2026

About the author

Adi Rule earned her MFA in writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is represented by Ammi-Joan Paquette of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

WARNING
If you ever find a mysterious, glowing egg beneath the rotten floorboards of an abandoned chicken coop in the dead of night, do not touch it. Do not pick up the mysterious, glowing egg.

Do not bring the mysterious, glowing egg inside your house.
Do not crack it open over a hot frying pan with a little oil.
Do not spatula it onto a plate and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
And MOST IMPORTANTLY:
Do
NOT
EAT
IT.

Like myself, 10-year-old Florence Fortescue is a creature of the asphalt. She loved living on the tenth floor of a big-city apartment. Also, as she notes: “I am a famous magazine editor. Well, I’m famous in my building, at least. My magazine is called The Scuttlebutt. I publish a new edition each week with all the hottest gossip from around the neighborhood.”

Imagine the horror for this budding young TMZ-style reporter when her parents — a submarine-designing mother and a songwriter father — yank her out of her urban bliss to a rundown farmhouse in the sticks.

After Florence eats that glowing egg (why, why?), she can see the dozens of ghost chickens, although her parents cannot. The chickens move into the farmhouse once Florence’s mother demolishes their decayed chicken coop. Now Florence has two objectives: her initial plan to persuade her parents to return to the city and getting rid of the pesky ghost chickens. Especially Bob, who roosts on Florence’s head.

Author Adi Rule has penned that’s wasted on its target audience. I mean that in the best of all possible ways. I couldn’t stop laughing at Florence’s antics and especially at her headlines, most worthy of the National Enquirer but funnier. I could not put the book down! (Sorry about the dishes, laundry and other chores, fam!) Don’t let the labels of “middle-grade” or “chapter book” put you off: Every reader of every age will adore this hilarious, offbeat book.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Tundra Books in exchange for an honest review.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous and slightly haunted look at 10 year old Florence who is forced to relocate from her beloved city neighborhood to a fixer upper in the country where ghost chicken abound, but it seems not everyone can see them.

Author Andi Rule fills her quirky story with great characters and an original plot. Not too many stories about there about the consumption of glowing eggs causing the eater to suddenly see a flock of invisible chickens who can sing, dance and like to perch on people’s heads. Florence is determined to be a journalist and she and her bestie have begun publishing a newspaper for their apartment building and are adopting solid journalism principles. Her parents have unusual jobs-submarine designer and song writer and are branching out to include things like farming and canning in their new rural lifestyle. Senior Geraldine is a unique combination of grumpy and generous and her story of not believing her brother’s childhood sighting of invisible chickens and warning Florence about not eating any glowing eggs she might find may make her the favorite of many readers. The stars of the book, though, just may be the animals. Not only do the invisible chickens sing harmony with song writer dad and practice line dancing as he plays the piano, but Geraldine has two highly entertaining dogs who will cause all sorts of chuckles.

Highly recommended for strong 3rd grade readers through fifth grade, especially for those looking for books with humor and/or ghosts who are not at all scary. The frequent sketches are an added bonus that will encourage more reluctant readers to keep on reading.

No profanity, violence or sexual content. Jupiter Lee uses they/them pronouns and, based on sketches in this eARC and naming conventions, may have an AAPI background. Florence’s family as well as Geraldine’s are pictured as Caucasian.

Thanks for the eARC, NetGalley and Tundra Books.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Florence loves living in the city. So when her parents move to a house in the country, she resents it. There is an old chicken coop in the back yard, that she is drawn to, where she finds a glowing chicken egg. What does she do? She eats it, and then she sees the ghost chickens that are haunting the property. But no one else can see them, and it is driving her crazy.

So, she plans to get others to eat the glowing eggs.

It is a cute story. The only thing that drove me crazy was her naming one of the chickens Bob, and calling her a him, until her neighbor explains that all the chickens are female. But she keeps Bob’s name as is, because it suits her.

I enjoyed this short read. It was silly the way adults can be silly when they can’t see things that children can. I think kids will get a kick out of it. Apparently it is book one in a series of further ghost chickens books. Yay.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published on the 1st of September 2026.

[LearningWhereWeRoam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghost Chickens: Omelet from the Other Side is a funny and imaginative story that my daughter couldn't put down. Florence is a relatable main character, and her unexpected encounter with a flock of mischievous ghost chickens leads to plenty of laughs and surprising adventures.

The story has just the right mix of humor, mystery, and heart. Florence's determination, along with the quirky cast of characters, keeps the pages turning, and the ghost chickens add a fun twist that makes the story entertaining without being too scary.

My daughter is already hoping there will be more ghost chicken adventures, and I think kids who enjoy funny, slightly spooky stories will have a great time with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[SeasonsOfKidLit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge chapter book fan, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of this book from Tundra!

Packed with lively, comical illustrations and egg-cellent, laugh-out-loud humor, this story is sure to keep young readers entertained and laughing out loud from beginning to end. With plenty of spooky seasonal fun, it's a great pick for Halloween reading. I'd definitely recommend grabbing a copy!

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually laughed out loud. Thoroughly enjoyed. I also want a ghost chicken named Bob.