Doreen Cronin has done an amazing job with her picture books and my kids love them. I was excited to see this next step up with early readers from her. Sadly, I was not very impressed. The characters from the chicks to the squirrels were hilarious and I immediately fell in love with them. Cronin did an excellent job at creating characters that you felt you knew and could relate to or understand. The story line was also good. I liked the idea behind getting shelter for an unknown (at the moment) catastrophe. All that being said, I felt that the book was working too hard to teach instead of just telling the story. It felt forced. The vocabulary explanations and extensive time spent on that was just too much for the type of book it was and it really felt like it was trying to hard. This book just missed the mark for me.

The Chicken Squad is back in "Gimme Shelter: Misadventures and Misinformation!" Adult readers will recognize immediately the current event inspiration in Cronin's latest outing for her chick crew. The chicks notice the human family taking furniture inside and assume that a horrible storm must be coming. So, the chicks decide (by non-unanimous vote) that they should build a storm shelter. As they chicks wade through the murky waters of voting rules, they inspire the other animals of the yard to build their own shelters. Boundary wars ensue until, finally, they must all work together to escape - GASP! - kids with leaf blowers! The Chicken Squad series continues to be an excellent choice for early chapter book readers and family read-aloud time. Begin with this installment (book five) or the first; there is plenty to enjoy.

I adore the Chicken Squad, and their newest adventure does not disappoint. These fluffy chicks are as delightful and hilarious as ever. Perfect first chapter book to hand to someone who likes humor and adventure. There are always very inviting illustrations to accompany the story as well.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2171194810