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The Chicken Squad #4

Dark Shadows: Yes, Another Misadventure

Now an animated series on Disney Junior!

The Chicken Squad is back for their fourth (mis)adventure, and this time they’re facing their darkest mystery yet: shadows! A “lip-bitingly funny” (School Library Journal) chapter book from the bestselling author of Click, Clack, Moo and Cyclone.

There’s a big, SHADOWY mystery lurking about on what was supposed to be a nice chicken-family vacation to a farm. Sugar is certain that she is being watched, and when Poppy’s beloved shoe (the shoe that keeps her safe and snug) goes missing, Sugar is sure that this shadow is the culprit. But how does the Chicken Squad tackle a shadow? And do it without ruining the family reunion…which includes meeting eighty-five cousins whose names all begin with the letter B, a lesson on figuring out perimeters (no, Sugar, the perimeter of a car is not one mile), and deciding how many bags of jelly beans one should pack for a road trip?

115 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2017

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About the author

Doreen Cronin

68 books
Doreen Cronin is the author of many bestselling and New York Times bestselling picture books, including Click, Clack, Quack to School!; Click, Clack, Surprise!; Click, Clack, Ho, Ho, Ho; Click, Clack, Peep; Click, Clack, Boo!; Dooby Dooby Moo; Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky Adventure; Bounce; Wiggle; Duck for President; Giggle, Giggle, Quack; Bloom; and the Caldecott Honor Book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type as well as The Chicken Squad series and Cyclone. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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Community Reviews

5 stars
141 (33%)
4 stars
156 (37%)
3 stars
97 (23%)
2 stars
13 (3%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
Profile Image for Darla.
5,199 reviews1,380 followers
August 1, 2017
Barbara takes JJ Tully and all the chickens to the farm for a family reunion and there is yet another mystery to solve. Who is Befrizzle, the bird with the long, dark shadow and speckled feathers and a gray "string" hanging out of its mouth.

There are laugh out loud moments like the long string of cousins whose names all start with "B" introducing themselves to the visitors, the need to bribe other barnyard animals with jellybeans and the recurring requests for a loofah sponge, a hot glue gun and six yards of yellow chiffon. . .

This was my favorite adventure yet. Looking forward to "Gimme Shelter."
Profile Image for Laila.
1,532 reviews47 followers
December 3, 2017
My son thought that Sugar the chick pretending that her name was Bugar/Booger was hilarious! All the chicken cousins have names that start with B, so... The chicks and their mom are visiting their relatives at the farm for a week. But someone is stealing their jelly beans! And where is Poppy's beloved shoe? When I told my son my library doesn't have any more of these yet he pouted. I love that he's fallen in love with this series!
Profile Image for Anthony.
7,607 reviews34 followers
February 25, 2018
The Chicken Squad is headed to the farm for a family reunion to meet their multitude of cousins, whose names all start with the letter B which requires the use of alphabetization to remember who is who. During the visit Sugar meets a mysterious shadowy figure who says his name is Befrizzle, and takes a bag of jellybeans from her, and to make matters worse Poppy's shoe is stolen. Sugar declares a crime scene and the investigation is afoot. Math is used to determine the size of the crime scene perimeter.
Profile Image for AMY.
2,910 reviews
April 16, 2018
115 pages. Great continuing drama with the Chicken Squad. This time they travel to the farm to meet all of their chicken cousins and find themselves in a mysterious problem. Someone steals their jellybeans AND Poppy’s shoe. Funny story and illustrations. The last line of the main story will have boys laughing and most girls saying, “Ewwwww!” Lots of fun and adventure. A quick read. Highly recommended for Grades 3-5.
Profile Image for Sheila.
3,432 reviews59 followers
March 21, 2017
The Chicken Squad is back and going to a family reunion with JJ and Barbara. As they meet the relatives on the farm, a big mysterious chicken shows up but is not in the greeting line. Poppy's shoe goes missing so how will she sleep? Does the mystery chicken have something to do with the missing shoe? Why has no one told Sugar about all the jelly beans hiding places?

The Chicken Squad is as dysfunctional as ever. Now they are under the watchful scrutiny of their extended family. It is a good thing Dirt is there to control Sugar or their detecting would get them in a whole lot of trouble. I love these chickens. JJ's narrative is great. I always feel I'm in a 1940's gumshoe novel. It's great.

I look forward to more in this series. I never fail to laugh at their antics.
Profile Image for Kat O'Brian.
Author 6 books5 followers
May 10, 2021
Amazing! This was extremely interesting, kept myself and my 9 year old completely engaged the entire time and we burst out laughing several times. I liked it and my daughter loved it. We will definitely be looking for more of these!

Highly recommend for all children! And to think I found this gem in one of those free library boxes around town.
Profile Image for Kristin.
1,201 reviews38 followers
May 13, 2017
Didn't realize this was #4 in a series when I picked it up. Reading the first three could have possibly changed my review. Cute illustrations, but again, a dull story in my opinion. What is it about this age level for me?
Profile Image for Eme87.
255 reviews1 follower
June 2, 2017
Read June 1, 2017
Early Chapter Book
The chicken gang and J.J. go to a farm to visit some of Moosh's family. There are a TON of chickens there and cousins galore. Sugar does NOT want to meet everyone and polite introductions sound boring. Better to go eat jelly beans in the car.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Mari Anne.
1,525 reviews30 followers
August 19, 2019
The funniest one yet. I was laughing out loud at Cronin's clever plays on words. Cronin even managed to sneak in some education about perimeter and alphabetizing!

I love this series and this one made me love this series even more! Great for readers in grades 2-5.
Profile Image for emyrose8.
3,853 reviews21 followers
May 6, 2017
Another great book from the Chicken Squad. So many teachable moments in this series: math, manners, family values... and the best part is, they're funny!
683 reviews
August 27, 2017
Though I liked this book overall, the narrator decided to do the voices differently than she has in the earlier books, and it's just not as good. It lessened my enjoyment of the book.
17 reviews
April 3, 2019
They were really sneaky 🐤🐤🐥🐤♀️♀️♀️♂️🐓♀️🌽.
4 reviews
July 10, 2019
This is my favorite book because it has a lot of humor.I would recomend this book to people who like funny stories.I really liked this book mabye you would to.
Profile Image for Amanda.
153 reviews20 followers
August 12, 2019
It's been awhile since we've read a Chicken Squad story. We were laughing our feathers off, it was so good! Sarcasm and silliness!
Profile Image for Leah Bryson.
166 reviews5 followers
August 11, 2020
I love this series to read with my kids. This one wasn’t as interesting to us as the others but still gave several chuckles.
Profile Image for Colette.
2,126 reviews
May 8, 2024
alphabetical order of “B” named cousin chickens, missing jellybeans and perimeter. Thieving pigs!

The dog is the best character!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews