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Chicken Squad #4
Dark Shadows: Yes, Another Misadventure
The Chicken Squad is back for their fourth (mis)adventure, and this time they’re facing their darkest mystery yet: shadows!
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 jellybeans one should pack for a road trip?
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 jellybeans one should pack for a road trip?
128 pages, Hardcover
First published March 14, 2017
30 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
About the author
Doreen Cronin
122 books446 followersDoreen Cronin (born 1966) is an American writer of children's books, including Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type, a very well-received picture book illustrated by Betsy Lewin.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
May 14, 2021
Read aloud to D.
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."
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."
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!
June 17, 2017
A great addition to the Chicken Squad mystery series for independent readers.
July 2, 2022
The ending is a satisfying one, though a more wholesome one than the first two. Ultimately this one is about family and found family.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
July 31, 2018
A cute series for kids reading early chapter books. The silly humor is sure to please.
Series Review | TpT Store | Pinterest
Series Review | TpT Store | Pinterest
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.
Highly recommend for all children! And to think I found this gem in one of those free library boxes around town.
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?
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.
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.
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.
I love this series and this one made me love this series even more! Great for readers in grades 2-5.
January 6, 2018
like every other CHICKEN SQUAD book.
October 30, 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!
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.
October 22, 2017
Chickens solve the mystery of the missing jellybeans (plus Poppy's missing shoe). A fun early chapter book.
November 9, 2017
Kids liked it a lot
December 21, 2017
Oh my geee. These chickens though. Love them.
September 8, 2018
So funny.
November 4, 2018
Nathan liked the character of Befrizzle the most.
April 3, 2019
They were really sneaky 🐤🐤🐥🐤♀️♀️♀️♂️🐓♀️🌽.
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.
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!
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.
October 23, 2020
So cute!
July 17, 2021
Another cute book for tutoring.
August 28, 2022
Clever, with hilarity and a quick lesson in deductive reasoning
May 8, 2024
alphabetical order of “B” named cousin chickens, missing jellybeans and perimeter. Thieving pigs!
The dog is the best character!
The dog is the best character!
September 19, 2024
My kids have loved every book in the series so far.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews