Browsing the beginning chapter books: Kung Pow Chicken: Jurassic Peck by Cyndi Marko

Genre: Humor; Superheroes; Comic

Protagonists: Animals (male)

Reading level: M-N

Series: Four titles originally; a fifth title was added in 2020.

Originally reviewed in December 2020

Review: Kung Pow Chicken was one of the earliest Branches series, published in 2014, and a popular choice for many of my transitional readers. There were lots of disappointed kids when I told them it looked like the series had ended a few years later in 2016. However, I was delighted to see another one pop out this summer!

Gordon Blue, after falling into the classic vat of toxic waste, now has the ability to become Kung Pow Chicken! In the first four books, he acquired a sidekick, Egg Drop (aka Benny, his little brother) and a sometimes partner, superhero Beak Girl (his best friend Annie Beakly, unknown to Gordon). With the aid of Gordon's Uncle Quack and his various gadgets, they all fight crime together.

In this new adventure, a trip to the museum goes wrong when Uncle Quack makes a mistake and accidentally sends the heroes back in time. However, it turns out that's just where they need to be, since the sinister scientist at the museum, Dr. Strangebok, is up to no good in dinosaur times! Will Kung Pow Chicken admit he needs help and work with Beak Girl and Egg Drop to save the day, and the dinosaurs, from Dr. Strangebok?

Colorful pictures look like colored pencil drawings and have a stick-figure, child drawing effect. Puns and sound effects abound, speech bubbles, although in a smaller font and somewhat wordy, have an accessible reading level. If you use a leveling system, this will come in higher because of the made-up words (Fowladelphia) and dinosaur terms, but most readers will breeze right through them.

Verdict: Time to promote this series again! The original fans are teenagers now, but a whole new generation can discover egg-related puns. Recommend to fans of Lunch Lady, Inspector Flytrap, and other goofy and colorful graphic mysteries.

Revisited: This is a staple of the Branches series and still available in paperback and prebind. It's worth following Cyndi Marko as she's created several other one-off or series comics like her current Sloth Sleuth.

ISBN: 9781338596649; Published September 2020 by Scholastic; Purchased for the library