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bookworm71's review against another edition
3.0
Cute story but had some moments of disconnect where I wasn't sure what was going on because it hadn't been explained. Quick read though--read in 30 minutes and enjoyed it.
the_enobee's review against another edition
3.0
This was a short and fun read with all the elements of a typical mystery novel. The story is told from JJ's hard-boiled point of view, and involves a cast of characters made up of dogs and chickens. There's a lot of humor here, and I recommend this for all ages. There are many illustrations, and the story takes place over 4th of July weekend, so this could be a fun, shared read to while away a hot summer afternoon. The spoilers below are character notes for our OBOB team.
Jonathan Joseph Tully (JJ) - Spent 7 years as a search and rescue dog and is now retired to live in the country with Barb, his trainer. JJ is commissioned by Moosh to locate her missing chick. JJ rejects payment of chicken feed and feathers in favor of a cheeseburger. When JJ notices the gap between Dirt and Sugar when they line up to follow Moosh, Sugar explains that Poppy and Sweetie are missing. JJ tries to pick up their scent with no luck. It isn't until he's presented with a kidnap note that he can identify the scent of the house. The note uses big words such as "rendezvous" and "behooves". This leads JJ to believe it must be written by someone who spends their time indoors.
(JJ reminisces about a roast beef sandwich he had a bad feeling about in Detroit but ate anyway. The bad feeling turned out to be true as he woke up in a hospital with food poisoning.)
It looks like Vince the Funnel, the inside dog, is the mastermind behind the kidnapping. All signs point to this at first, but Vince's sole desire is to imprison JJ so he goes to the Vet and gets ear tubes in Vince's place. This will shed Vince of JJ and teach him a lesson. It comes out that Sugar was actually the mastermind, as she hatched the kidnap plan in order to maintain access to the library in the house. She did it all for the books.
JJ is trapped in Vince's cage, and the chicks hatch a plan to help him out, obtain the doggy door controller from Vince's collar, and also trap Vince in the cage so they can all leave the house safely. In the end it also comes out that Moosh knew that Sugar wrote the kidnap note, but she was desperate and would do anything to get her chicks back.
As the chickens begin to walk away, they leave a spot for JJ, and they all end up on the couch watching TV.
Millicent (Moosh) - mother hen to the chickens, she enlists JJ to help her get her family back.
Little Boo (Dirt) - One of the chicks not kidnapped or missing.
Peep (Sugar) - Another chick that is not initially missing. She appears to wear glasses. Sugar is quite intelligent and is actually the author of the ransom note.
Poppy - one of the missing chicks.
Sweetie - the other missing chick. These chicks are not assigned nicknames because JJ says that nicknames are only cute when your mother knows where you are.
Vince the Funnel - Barb's indoor dog that is one of the masterminds behind the plan to trap JJ in his cage so that JJ is the one that makes the trip to the Vet for ear tubes. Vince sees himself as an alpha dog that doesn't like company. He's willing to send JJ to the vet and do away with the chickens to frame JJ. Vince's dog collar has an electronic control for the doggy door, which JJ and the chicks must obtain in order to leave the house.
Run
Hide
Breathe
Watch
Run
RHBWR - an acronym of note that is the basis of JJ's training for Dirt, which ends up being carried out by Moosh as she sneaks in the house first.
Epilogue:
- Vince gets his ear tubes and they can sometimes hear him crashing around the house as he wears an even bigger funnel.
- Sugar teaches the family to read.
- Somtetimes the chicks gather around JJ to hear him tell tales of his past rescues. Sugar asks why his rescue days are over, which JJ alludes is another story. Perhaps the next in the series?
Spoiler
Jonathan Joseph Tully (JJ) - Spent 7 years as a search and rescue dog and is now retired to live in the country with Barb, his trainer. JJ is commissioned by Moosh to locate her missing chick. JJ rejects payment of chicken feed and feathers in favor of a cheeseburger. When JJ notices the gap between Dirt and Sugar when they line up to follow Moosh, Sugar explains that Poppy and Sweetie are missing. JJ tries to pick up their scent with no luck. It isn't until he's presented with a kidnap note that he can identify the scent of the house. The note uses big words such as "rendezvous" and "behooves". This leads JJ to believe it must be written by someone who spends their time indoors.
(JJ reminisces about a roast beef sandwich he had a bad feeling about in Detroit but ate anyway. The bad feeling turned out to be true as he woke up in a hospital with food poisoning.)
It looks like Vince the Funnel, the inside dog, is the mastermind behind the kidnapping. All signs point to this at first, but Vince's sole desire is to imprison JJ so he goes to the Vet and gets ear tubes in Vince's place. This will shed Vince of JJ and teach him a lesson. It comes out that Sugar was actually the mastermind, as she hatched the kidnap plan in order to maintain access to the library in the house. She did it all for the books.
JJ is trapped in Vince's cage, and the chicks hatch a plan to help him out, obtain the doggy door controller from Vince's collar, and also trap Vince in the cage so they can all leave the house safely. In the end it also comes out that Moosh knew that Sugar wrote the kidnap note, but she was desperate and would do anything to get her chicks back.
As the chickens begin to walk away, they leave a spot for JJ, and they all end up on the couch watching TV.
Millicent (Moosh) - mother hen to the chickens, she enlists JJ to help her get her family back.
Little Boo (Dirt) - One of the chicks not kidnapped or missing.
Peep (Sugar) - Another chick that is not initially missing. She appears to wear glasses. Sugar is quite intelligent and is actually the author of the ransom note.
Poppy - one of the missing chicks.
Sweetie - the other missing chick. These chicks are not assigned nicknames because JJ says that nicknames are only cute when your mother knows where you are.
Vince the Funnel - Barb's indoor dog that is one of the masterminds behind the plan to trap JJ in his cage so that JJ is the one that makes the trip to the Vet for ear tubes. Vince sees himself as an alpha dog that doesn't like company. He's willing to send JJ to the vet and do away with the chickens to frame JJ. Vince's dog collar has an electronic control for the doggy door, which JJ and the chicks must obtain in order to leave the house.
Run
Hide
Breathe
Watch
Run
RHBWR - an acronym of note that is the basis of JJ's training for Dirt, which ends up being carried out by Moosh as she sneaks in the house first.
Epilogue:
- Vince gets his ear tubes and they can sometimes hear him crashing around the house as he wears an even bigger funnel.
- Sugar teaches the family to read.
- Somtetimes the chicks gather around JJ to hear him tell tales of his past rescues. Sugar asks why his rescue days are over, which JJ alludes is another story. Perhaps the next in the series?
heidisreads's review against another edition
4.0
Looking for a book to read as a family? Try Doreen Cronin's The Trouble with Chickens! It's funny! It's a mystery! It might be "eggsactly" what you're looking for! And there's a book 2 :)
shicklin's review against another edition
3.0
Cute mystery about an old rescue dog and some quirky chicks... Great writing.
hidingzeus's review against another edition
3.0
This was rather cute. I liked the hard-boiled detective narration. Fun.
wendyk's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is funny, so many good one-liners makes it fun to read aloud. Plus, it just so fun to make it sound like one of those old detective shows.
J.J. Tully is a retired search and rescue dog and he's ready to relax and enjoy his retirement on the farm. But then two chicks and their mother show up on his doggy doorstep asking for help finding their missing siblings. With a cheeseburger on the line, J.J.'s on the hunt, but the clues aren't exactly adding up.
A funny, easy mystery for early chapter readers.
J.J. Tully is a retired search and rescue dog and he's ready to relax and enjoy his retirement on the farm. But then two chicks and their mother show up on his doggy doorstep asking for help finding their missing siblings. With a cheeseburger on the line, J.J.'s on the hunt, but the clues aren't exactly adding up.
A funny, easy mystery for early chapter readers.