One of our easier OBOB (Oregon Battle of the Books) titles is The Trouble With Chickens by Doreen Cronin.
All the adults who have read it think it is wonderfully funny. The 4th graders I know who have read it like it less. I think they think it is beneath them. It is an easy chapter book and thin. Yesterday, at our OBOB meeting, one student actually said to me, “I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but I do. I choose them if they have bright colors and are thick.”
I haven’t really followed the adventures of JJ and the chicks since the book came out in 2011. Since then, Cronin has publish one other JJ Tully mystery, The Legend of Diamond Lil (2012).
She has also created a spin off series about the chicks, The Chicken Squad, two books of which were published this year.
These are even easier chapter books than the JJ Tully mysteries, with a larger font, but still maintaining the chapter book format.
If you have kids ready to move on to chapter books, give JJ and the Chicken Squad a try.
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