  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 03/01/2012 Gr 2–4—A funny story with endearing characters both human and fowl, this is a great choice for readers just moving on to chapter books. Daniel's third-grade class is going to hatch chicks, and he hopes to take one home when the project ends. His mother reluctantly agrees to one, but Daniel ends up with five, setting up the family for lots of chaos. The Secret Chicken Society is, uh, hatched when Daniel realizes that one of the chicks is not a hen but a rooster, and roosters are forbidden within city limits thanks to their noisy nature. The club's purpose is to keep Peepers a secret from the police and a grumpy neighbor. After several flawed attempts to muffle the bird, Daniel's deceit comes home to roost, and the rooster is a sitting duck. The boy, though, comes up with a great compromise, and all's well that ends well. Humorous cartoons are scattered throughout the text. While it is descriptive and action-packed, the story is not dense, making it both accessible and rewarding.—Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 04/15/2012 Like many adventures in life, this story begins with a third-grade science project. By promising to take very good care of it, Daniel receives permission to adopt one of the chickens his class has hatched. However, before his mom knows it, the family’s menagerie of pets has increased by—count ’em—five. Fortunately, she quickly adapts and, along with Daniel’s siblings and his environmentally friendly stay-at-home dad, comes to enjoy them, although the grumpy old man next door and his sneaky cat don’t feel the same, especially as one of the young hens grows into something unexpected. The true-to-life siblings decide to form a club to protect their flock from the neighbors (and the Portland Police Department), but soon Peepers—and the secret—is out of the coop, and it takes some anxious moments and family ingenuity to make everything right. Lively vocabulary, a jaunty font, silly chicken clichés, entertaining black-and-white spot illustrations, and back-matter recommendations for at-home egg hatching support the success of this early chapter book. - Copyright 2012 Booklist. Loading...
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