J. J. Tully, a former search-and-rescue dog, is supposed to be resting and relaxing after a noble career. But he is hardly settled into his new home before a mama chick named Mildred wants him to find two of her brood that have gone missing. Tully's willing to take on the case for a hamburger, but a ransom note soon complicates things, and a house dog, Vince the Funnel (for the contraption wrapped around his head), is out to make sure that he is not the canine going to the vet to get tubes in his ears. The plot is a bit convoluted, and when the narrator changes in the middle of the book, even experienced readers might be confused. But the noirlike detective Tully and the funny chickens running around, well, like chickens make appealing characters, especially as drawn by Cornell, who knows how to get TV cartoon-style humor out of the action. Readers can expect to see more of Tully at work in future installments of this new series.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 2-4-With its sharp wit and suspenseful mystery, Cronin's foray into the crowded chapter-book field is a crowd pleaser. Retired search-and-rescue dog J.J. Tully is enjoying the simple life on a farm when his world is turned upside down by an annoying hen, Moosh, and her two equally obnoxious chicks, Dirt and Sugar, who hound him to help locate Poppy and Sweetie. They fear that the missing chicks have been kidnapped and are being held hostage inside the house where ferocious Vince the Funnel-an aptly named canine-lives. When Moosh appears with a note stating it "behooves" the chickens to "rendezvous" to get back her peeps, J.J. muses about the likelihood of birdbrains with sophisticated vocabulary, and he must sniff out the true offenders. Cronin's tongue-in-cheek humor spills forward as the detective story unfolds, while the whodunit will keep readers guessing until the ending. Cornell's black-and-white cartoon illustrations add to the hilarity with bespectacled Sugar, cone-headed Vince the Funnel, and J.J. Tully's mismatched floppy ears. Teachers will embrace the story as a great read-aloud, while reluctant and nonreluctant readers will savor this quick read of a mystery and eagerly await the next case for J.J. Tully to crack.-Michele Shaw, Quail Run Elementary School, San Ramon, CA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

J.J. Tully, retired search-and-rescue dog, is one tough cookie -- laconic, unflappable, and master of speech noir: "Sometimes there's a plan, sometimes there's only adrenaline. Sometimes adrenaline is all you need." He is lured out of retirement by a determined chicken who promises him a cheeseburger if he'll take on the case of her kidnapped offspring. The perp is Vince the Funnel, who looks like "a cross between a dachshund and a lamp" (he's a wiener dog with a cone on his head), and the victims (or so we think) are a couple of chicks, Poppy and Sweetie. Perfect pacing and reliably placed zinger lines keep us engaged and pulled into the next short chapter. A genial denouement involving the pleasures of community and the power of reading is fully earned. Tidily embedded clues, a generous scattering of vignette and full-page illustrations, a dandy plot twist, and a cast of hilarious characters add up to a treat of particular delight to fans of the mystery genre, dog lovers, and the chicken positive. sarah ellis (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Cronin, best known for her witty barnyard picture books, Click, Clack, Moo and its successors, brings her droll humor to the chapter book set with great success. After seven years as a search-and-rescue dog, J.J. Tully (possibly a German shepherd) has been rewarded with retirement in the country. Though he puts on airs, recalling "a parade in my honor after I pulled three tornado victims out from under a mountain of debris," he grudgingly agrees to help a mother hen find her two missing chicks (in exchange for a cheeseburger). Behind his hard-boiled persona, J.J. has some genuine detective smarts, but he faces a formidable foe in Vince the Funnel, the "inside" dog, who looks "like a cross between a dachshund and a lamp" (he's wearing a cone-shaped collar due to an ear infection). Fast-paced and funny, with interesting vocabulary and a well-constructed plot, this is terrific fare for readers who are ready to move beyond picture books, but are intimidated by longer works. Cornell's pencil drawings have a mix of energy and humor that adds to the fun. Ages 8-12. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A sock monkey is the titular character in this tale of boy, cat and toy. Working with his wife, Eileen, who makes her picture book debut, Marc Rosenthal places hugely appealing retro-cartoon illustrations against a spare backdrop. As boy and cat tussle over Bobo, fundamental preschooler emotions - desire, fear, frustration, despair - will play for appreciative giggles. ELMER AND THE RAINBOW Written and illustrated by David McKee. Unpaged. Andersen Press USA. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 9) Elmer the out-of-the-ordinary patchwork elephant, a paragon of diversity for the preschool set and a major star in Europe, shines in a new tale of munificence and collaboration. Here, Elmer aims to give his own colors to an inexplicably colorless rainbow. With its conflict-free resolution, "Elmer" serves as a kind of antidote to the controversial "Rainbow Fish," in which a multihued fish is loath to share. Generosity, in Elmer's world, is not a zero-sum game. THE TROUBLE WITH CHICKENS A J.J. Tully Mystery. By Doreen Cronin. Illustrated by Kevin Cornell. 119 pp. Balzer & Bray. $14.99. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 12) Spot-on humor and a clever story ensure this latest from Cronin will be a favorite among middle-grade readers. The plot thickens as the hero, J.J. Tully, a former search-and-rescue dog with the world-weary voice of a retired P.I., confronts a family of chickens and an "inside" dog, Vince. Trouble indeed, sweetheart - but worth it. AMELIA LOST The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart. By Candace Fleming. Illustrated. 118 pp. Schwartz & Wade Books. $18.99. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 12) Black-and-white photographs and elegant typography give this gorgeously produced book an appropriate period feel, while alternating chapters - one set following Earhart from childhood, the other tracking her final flight - provide historical context as well as vivid pacing. But though Fleming allows Earhart her glamorous due, she also strips her of myth, giving readers the accuracy they deserve. BLESS THIS MOUSE By Lois Lowry. Illustrated by Eric Rohmann. 152 pp. Houghton Mifflin. $15.99. (Middle grade; ages 9 to 12) Lowry, a two-time Newbery medalist, offers a winning fable about a parish of church mice. "Bless This Mouse" feels like an old-timey classic, but Mouse Mistress Hildegarde, though devout and resolute in caring for her wards, casually mentions "X-rated DVDs" (not that she would watch) and calls her nemesis a liar. No church lady, she. DEADLY By Julie Chibbaro. Illustrated. 293 pp. Atheneum. $16.99. (Young adult; ages 12 and up) Paced like a medical thriller, "Deadly" is the rare Y.A. novel in which a girl's intellectual interests trump adolescent romance. A 16-year-old Jewish tenement dweller in 1906 New York pines away days at a finishing school on scholarship and nights helping midwife young mothers. When she quits school to assist the Department of Health and Sanitation in its pursuit of "Typhoid Mary," she is awakened to nascent opportunities for women in science.