Chicken Dance by Jacques Couvillon
Bloomsbury, 2007 ISBN 978 0 7475 8930 3
(Age 11-14) Don is a loner, few other kids take to him at school, and
at home his parents are cold and distant. When he finds his birth
certificate coupled with the name of a private investigator, he is told
that his sister, Dawn, did not die before he was born, but was
kidnapped. While at a chicken judging competition, he strives to find
his lost sister, hoping that his family will once again be whole, a
real family.
Don's capers will cause much laughter as kids will sympathise with this
loner, trying hard to be liked by friends and parents. Living on a
chicken farm, his one interest, chickens, causes him to win the local
chicken judging competition, and this brings him fame and friends for a
while. Even his mother is impressed, eventually, but he continues to
strive for her attention. Finding his lost sister becomes his aim, and
he puts all his energies into doing just that.
A funny wry look at families and what makes them tick, Chicken Dance
will appeal to middle school readers looking for something different
and quirky.
Fran Knight
© Pledger
Consulting, 2007