Let's Get Cracking! (Kung Pow Chicken Series #1)

by Cyndi Marko

Overview

Kung Pow Chicken is the superhero everyone has been waiting for!

This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

In this exciting full-color series, Gordon Blue transforms into Kung Pow Chicken, an avian superhero who fights crime in the city of Fowladelphia. The first book in the series kicks off when Gordon's birdy senses lead him to a festival. Suddenly, POOF! Feathers fill the air and shivering naked chickens are everywhere. Why have all these chickens lost their feathers? Forced to wear wooly sweaters, the city itches for a hero. Kung Pow Chicken hops into his Beakmobile to save the day!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545610612
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/07/2014
Series:	Prairie Legacy #02 , #1
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	30,100
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Cyndi Marko studied Fine Arts at Okanagan University College and she also studied Graphic Design and Prepress Technology at Humber College in Toronto. KUNG POW CHICKEN is her first children's book series. She currently lives in Canada.

Editorial Reviews

11/11/2013
Newcomer Marko dives headlong into superhero comedy in this hilarious kickoff to the Kung Pow Chicken series (part of the publisher’s Branches line), named for the alter ego of second-grader Gordon Blue, a rotund chicken. Freewheeling full-page illustrations and sequential panels push the book into graphic novel territory and assume much of the storytelling duty. After Gordon and his younger brother, Benedict, accidentally fall into a vat of toxic sludge at their scientist uncle’s lab (“Maybe we won’t tell your mom about this...” quips Uncle Quack), superpowers manifest in both birds. Their “birdy senses” tingle when danger is near, and it certainly appears to be present at the Fowl Fall Festival when the chickens in attendance suddenly (and explosively) begin to lose their feathers. Puns, one-liners, and goofy superpowered action are in abundant supply over the story’s eight chapters—along with plenty of “kapows,” “zoings,” and villainous laughter—as Kung Pow Chicken and his sidekick Egg Drop investigate. Just the thing for beginning readers eying the Captain Underpants shelf. Ages 5–7. Agent: Adriann Ranta, Wolf Literary Services. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

This first book in the “Kung Pow Chicken” series introduces the main characters and provides an explanation for Gordon Blue’s extraordinary powers. Gordon looks like an ordinary chicken. He has all the correct parts, including a beak, a comb, and chicken feet. He wears large square glasses and he is a second grader in Sunnyside School. His secret super powers resulted from a visit to Uncle Quack’s scientific laboratory. Both Gordon and his younger brother Benny fell into a vat of toxic sludge. Now Gordon’s tail feathers twitch when something is wrong. When the students in his school take a field trip to the Foul Fall Festival, Gordon knows trouble is brewing. Chickens eating Granny’s Cookies are losing their feathers and are then obliged to purchase Granny’s Sweaters to keep the chill off their naked bodies. Gordon and Benny figure out Granny’s scheme and crack the case. The text is filled with word play and puns related to chickens. The brightly colored cartoonlike illustrations contribute humor and action. A good choice for emerging readers. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D.; Ages 6 to 8.

Children's Literature - Phyllis Kennemer