Real Pigeons Fight Crime

October 1, 2019
When crime rears its ugly head, who better than pigeons to have on your side? Rock Pigeon loves nature and dressing up--as other birds, animals, even vegetation. He's a master of disguise, and that's why Grandpouter Pigeon flies from the city to the farm where Rock lives to recruit him to join a crime-fighting pigeon team. Rock Pigeon joins Tumbler, Homing, and Frillback, pigeons who each have their own special talent to apply to their first case: Where have all the breadcrumbs in the park gone?! The crime fighters stage a stakeout. Rock disguises himself as a bag of chips. Frillback uses super strength to create a pile of acorns to hide in. Tumbler's ultraflexibility makes hiding in a crack easy, and Homing...well, Homing takes a nap. Eventually they realize there are no animals or, more importantly from the breadcrumb standpoint, humans in the park. Though the humans are still buying bread at a nearby bakery, both humans and animals think the park may be haunted. What haunts the park? It's terrifying (and foolish). This series opener from an Australian author-and-illustrator team (three others are already out Down Under) is a goofball farce, Wood's line drawings visually amping up the slapstick. Following the breadcrumbs mystery, this episodic volume offers two other cases for the crime-busting birdies, and young readers will make quick work of them all. Totally coo! (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 8-12)

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January 1, 2020

Gr 2-5-A goofy tale of cartoon pigeons that fight crime. Rock lives a simple farm life-he has perfected the art of disguising himself and then jumping out to surprise his friends. No one is very impressed until one day, when an old pigeon called Grandpouter encourages Rock to join up with his crime-fighting pigeon squad. Along with Tumbler, Frillback, and "Homey" (the homing pigeon), Rock and Grandpouter embark on three crime-stopping missions. Each section of this high interest title contains chapters that unfold mysteries with complex and silly twists, including; the "Missing Bread Crumbs," the "Bat Trapper," and the grand finale that ties everything together: "Danger at the Food Truck Fair." The villains have benign motivations, and each bad guy is revealed to be a different species of flying animal. Wood's black-and-white sketches enhance the humor, and McDonald's puns will offer kids and parents alike a chuckle. Readers have the opportunity to learn "real" facts about "real" pigeons; rock, tumbler, frillback, and pouter pigeon traits are explained at the end. A fun readalike with Aaron Blabey's "Bad Guys" series or Cyndi Marko's "Kung Pow Chicken." VERDICT Perfect for emerging readers who want action, hilarious hijinks, and crime-fighting mysteries. This is the first in a series and is sure to earn fans ready for more adventures from these plucky pigeons.-Tara Kehoe, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Charlotte, NC

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2019
Grades 1-4 Rock the pigeon is considered the farm weirdo due to his love of dressing up. But word of his knack for creative camouflage gets around, drawing an older pigeon, Grandpouter, to the farm to recruit Rock as the Master of Disguise for a crime-fighting pigeon pack. He follows Grandpouter to the city, where he joins Frillback, Tumbler, and Homey to form the Real Pigeons squad. This highly entertaining series starter is divided into three mini-mysteries: The Great Bread Crumb Mystery, The Bat Trapper, and Danger at the Food Truck Fair. Manic energy and flapstick comedy (get it?) ricochet through the chapters, especially in Wood's cartoonish illustrations, which often morph into graphic-novel-like panels. McDonald readily provides hilarious dialogue and high jinks for each scene, guaranteeing that the pages of this early chapter book will fly. This final adventure closes with a teaser of the Real Pigeons' next case, which happily will be landing on shelves later this year. Dog Man and Inspector Flytrap fans are ideal readers for this perfectly absurd new series. Pigeon facts conclude!(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)