The Trouble with Chickens / Doreen Cronin / 119 pages

This is Doreen Cronin's first chapter book for emerging readers.  Great characters based on Ms. Cronin's family members inhabit the pages of this delightful book - JJ is her Dad, Moosh is her Mom, and Vince the Funnel is her uncle.  JJ is convinced by Moosh that he should come out of retirement as a search and rescue dog to rescue her missing chicks.  JJ suspects that "the kidnapping" was an inside job because the ransom note used "inside" words. "Words you can only learn inside.  Where there are things like comfortable chairs and fresh lemonade."  As it turns out, the chicks had not been kidnapped after all, but willingly entered the house to get to the books.  They wanted to read.  The chicks are adorable characters - "half yellow, half white - like fuzzy popcorn kernels with feet."  Kids will love them  and JJ, the hero, and his unexpected sidekick.