The Trouble with Chickens (J.J. Tully Series)

I don't know when I've laughed so hard!

I loved this book. It was one of those books that you pick up because you finally have kids and can now read it without explaining why you think it's humorous. I laughed the whole way through the book. The kids 7-14 enjoyed it. The story wasn't one to write about it's a typical kids mystery but the way it was written, well, let me say, if you have a dry sense of humor you'll love it. If you prefer slapstick probably not so much.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

JJ Tully Meets Vince, The House Mutt

J.J. Tully, a retired search and rescue dog who lives out in the country with his handler, Barb. Vince is Barb's pet dog. Vince is jealous of J.J. and wants to get rid of "The Hero Dog." Vince kidnaps two of Millicent's chicks, Poppy and Sweetie, causing the mamma to hire J.J. for the price of a cheeseburger. Together with Millicent's other two chicks, Dirt and Sugar, J.J. makes plans to rescue Poppy and Sweetie. Soon the tables are turned and J.J. is in a dog cage. Vince is sending J.J. to the vet for the night. Poppy and Sweetie have been in on the kidnapping the entire time. They agreed to Vince's plans because they wanted to watch television (but stayed to read the books). J.J. gets Dirt to "come clean" and learns he was set-up. Now he needs to find a way out of the cage. One-by-one the chicks join J.J. and Vince is defeated, caged and sent to the vet for his needed ear plugs.

J.J. is a sarcastic mutt who loves the rescue part of search and rescue. He helps Millicent, who he nicknames Moosh. In the beginning, J.J. finds the chicks annoying. The two young ones, nicknamed Dirt and Sugar, play in his water and sleep in his food. Mamma Moosh is jumpy. The story has two perspectives, J.J. Tully's and Vince's. J.J. sounds like a detective, somewhat sarcastic and questions most everything. He nicknames each of the chickens with unusual names. Millicent is Moosh, Little Boo becomes Dirt and Peep he calls Sugar. Vince is not happy J.J. is around and wants to get rid of him. He uses the chickens as pawns and what ensues is a funny, surprising, and a well thought out, old-fashioned, fake kidnapping. The dialogue snaps, the story never drags, and the illustrations, mainly of J.J., are spot on.

I really liked this. I am not one to read a mystery but I liked this one. The sarcastic J.J. Tully sounds like a detective in a film noir story. Even his name, "J.J. Tully," sounds like a detective with a harshly lit, one room office. He can seem bigger than life as he sizes up each character. Sugar is a sweet as her name and ironically, her love of books is the cause of the entire incident. The chicks are like little mobsters. Vince is the leader who over estimates himself and his plan. The story and wonderful illustrations remind me of Tom and Jerry cartoons. I think middle grade kids will love this new J.J. Tully mystery. It is sharp witted, funny and cartoonish. Simply wonderful.


Note: received galley from Net Galley, courtesy of the publisher

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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I love this book

Next year it is going to be a sunshine book

Best

This is the best book every

Mikayla snow

This book is mysetery slash fantasy it is the vest book ever

OMG!I love it!

Aig

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hilarious!

J.J. Tully is a retired search and rescue dog now living on a farm, but his golden years are not agreeing with him. J.J. misses the gritty streets and high stakes drama that came along with his career. Then suddenly the chicken family is in need of his services. Two of the four chicks have gone missing, and the chicken mom is beside herself. J.J. quickly deduces that Vince the Funnel's got something to do with this. Vince is the indoor dog that lives in the farmhouse and always has a giant funnel around his neck. Will J.J. be able to save his fine-feathered friends? You or your young reader will have to read this side-splitting tale to find out. I would really like to meet Doreen Cronin; I bet she is one funny lady. All of her books are hilarious with spot-on witty humor, and this one is no exception. Cronin has written this book in a very film-noir kind of way; you almost expect J.J. to call someone dame. Then she adds this juxtaposition of the cuddly little chicks. The combination of these elements is so out there and original, and it totally works. To give you an idea, the first lines of the book are as follows: "It was a hot, sunny day when I met that crazy chicken. So hot that sometimes I think the whole thing may have been a mirage. But mirages don't have chicken breath, mister." I mean, come on, this is funny stuff! As I read this story the gravelly voice of a narrator - think Perry Mason - was talking in my head. This is a quality book to put in your young reader's hands. And the really good news is, it's the start of a series!

wow

i allready have the book at home

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Watch Out!

The book is 52 pages. It is still a terrific book. I recomend it to 1st graders!

Fun chapter book mystery

I once had the joy of reading "Click, Clack, Moo" to a group of first and second graders. They were rolling in the aisles! In Cronin's new chapter book, the laughs continue. JJ Tully is a retired search and rescue dog who is enlisted by a hare-brained hen to find her two missing chicks. Naturally, there is a villain and Vince the dog plays the part well. The story reads like a Bogart movie with dogs and chickens.

JJ deduces that the chicks are held captive inside the house. He concocts a scheme to distract Vince and rescue the chicks. They discover, too late, that Vince has set a trap for JJ and has evil intentions for the chickens. Fortunately, in a surprising twist, the good guys win out and Vince is forced to face his punishment.

The chapter book crowd will enjoy this book and laugh out loud when they encounter the crazy antics of the characters. Kevin Cornell's illustrations are delightful and comical.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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