The Chicken Squad Read online

  “Camouflage,” said Sugar. “Poppy, you lick Sweetie. Sweetie, you lick Poppy. Then roll around in the grass clippings. You’ll be camouflaged. When you’re done, lick Dirt and do the same.”

  “I will not be licked by a chicken!” announced the squirrel.

  “Trust me,” said Sugar, “I would never ask anyone in my family to lick a squirrel. You’re on your own, pal.”

  Poppy and Sweetie followed Sugar’s instructions to lick and roll. Sweetie rolled right out the door. Poppy rolled her back. When they all looked like stubby clumps of grass, Sugar said, “Now grab the rocks and head to the tomato patch. On my signal, you let loose.”

  “Got it!” said Poppy. “But who’s going to watch the shoe?”

  “Forget the shoe,” said Sugar. “Dirt, you take the helium and stick with Tail. He’s going to show you where the UFO landed. Send up the balloon when you get there. That’s our target, everyone!”

  “Got it,” answered Dirt. “What are you going to do, Sugar?”

  “I’d rather not say,” answered Sugar, lowering her voice. “It’s dangerous, and I don’t want to frighten the squirrel.”

  “You’re right,” agreed Dirt. “The less information he has, the better.”

  “Move out!” said Sugar.

  “Wait,” said the squirrel. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just blow up the balloon here instead of dragging a helium tank all way across the yard?”

  Sugar let out a heavy sigh.

  “You can’t camouflage yourself and then walk around with a giant, orange balloon!” snapped Sugar. “Think, squirrel, think!”

  “Wow,” said the squirrel. “You guys are good.”

  Chapter 8

  Tail led the way with Dirt right behind him. When they got closer to the back of the house, he stopped cold.

  “There it is,” whispered the squirrel. He pressed his body against the house. “There it IS! THERE IT IS!”

  Dirt stepped in front of the squirrel and placed her wing to her lips. Then she peeked around the side. She gasped. Sure enough, a few feet from the house, was a giant circle, about four feet off the ground. She had never seen it before.

  “That is big and scary. You were right,” said Dirt. “And that is definitely a circle. Nice work!” Dirt studied the giant circle for another minute. “Although that is absolutely not forest green. Or pine green. That is clearly asparagus green. Don’t you own a box of crayons?”

  Tail’s eyes were wide. “What now?” he asked.

  “We get down low and we crawl,” said Dirt. “They’ll never see us.”

  “I’m big and gray! They’ll see me,” cried the squirrel. “They’ll see ME! THEY’LL SEE ME!”

  “They don’t want you,” Dirt reminded him. “Just do as I say and everything will be fine.”

  Tail started to turn Scaredy Squirrel Gray again.

  “Repeat after me,” said Dirt. “I am a brave squirrel.”

  “I am a brave squirrel. I am a BRAVE squirrel. I AM A BRAVE SQUIRREL!” The color returned to his face.

  They crawled closer to the UFO. It was hissing and popping. The air around it made everything look wavy.

  “Now what?” asked the squirrel.

  “We blow up the balloon,” answered Dirt, “and we tie it to that flowerpot next to the UFO.”

  “Then what?” asked the squirrel.

  “We wait for the others,” said Dirt calmly.

  “What are they going to do?” asked the squirrel.

  “I never know, kid,” answered Dirt. “I never, ever know.”

  Chapter 9

  Doink

  Doink, doink.

  Doink, doink, doink, doink.

  It sounded like stones bouncing off something metal. I jumped up from my nap and ran outside.

  That’s when I saw Barbara’s brand-new, shiny, green barbecue being pelted by rocks. Dozens of them. They were coming from the tomato patch.

  Doink doink doinkdoinkdoinkdoink doinkdoinkdoinkdoink doinkdoinkdoinkdoink doinkdoinkdoinkdoink.

  I ran as fast as I could toward the patch and took a couple of hits myself. That’s where I found two clumps of grass hurling pebbles at the back deck.

  “What are you doing?” I yelled. I grabbed the bag of rocks with my teeth and dragged it away from them. And then I tripped—over an old, green shoe.

  “Calm down! What on Earth is wrong with you?” I asked. Poppy and Sweetie looked like they had been spit out by the lawn mower.

  Sugar came running across the yard with the hose.

  “WE’RE COMING FOR YOU, MOM!! WE WON’T LET THE ALIENS TAKE YOU!”

  She aimed the hose directly at the front of the giant, round barbecue. The water came out fast and hard and quickly knocked it over.

  “GIVE ME BACK MY MOTHER, YOU CHICKEN-STEALING ALIENS!”

  The back door swung open with a giant squeak.

  The chicks all lay down flat in the grass. Excellent camouflage, I noticed. I hightailed it out of there. Dumb squirrel was standing right in the middle of it all, frozen. Poor kid stuck out like a . . . dumb squirrel.

  Barbara ran out of the house. Her brand-new, green barbecue grill was on the ground, surrounded by hot dogs and smoking charcoal.

  “You pesky squirrel!” she hollered. “Get out of here!!”

  She picked up the hose, gave Tail a good spray. The water exposed the chicks in the grass, too, but Barbara was too distracted by the small fire that was threatening her potted begonias.

  Chapter 10

  As soon as Barbara’s back was turned, I tossed the Chicken Squad and a couple of hot dogs into the shoe and carried it back to the coop. The dumb, wet squirrel was right behind us.

  “Hot dogs!” said Sugar. “Of course! The aliens weren’t here for chickens, they were after the hot dogs!”

  “Everybody loves hot dogs,” said Poppy. “But I’m not sure a hot dog would make a very good pet.”

  “It’s food, Poppy,” said Sugar. “The aliens were after food. Good thing we stopped them. Look how many they stole! They filled up their whole spaceship with hot dogs!”

  Sugar tossed one to the wet squirrel. “Thanks for your help, Tail!”

  “What happens to the aliens now?” asked Tail.

  “Their ship is down for good. They’ll send another one. Invisible, next time, to avoid our detection. They’ll rescue their friends and take off. They won’t be back. Not after what we did to them. You’re safe, kid. We’re all safe now.”

  “And we thought they were here for us.” Poppy laughed. “Like anybody would eat a chicken!”

  “They are from outer space,” said Sugar. “Who knows what kind of crazy stuff they eat out there.”

  “What’s with the shoe?” I asked.

  “There was nobody left to watch it,” said Poppy.

  “I licked it and rolled it,” said Sweetie proudly. “Just like Sugar said.”

  “Ew,” said Tail.

  “Excellent work, Sweetie,” said Dirt.

  Moosh walked into the chicken coop with fresh flowers from her garden. The Chicken Squad surrounded her with a BIG, ENORMOUS, and HUGE Chicken Squad hug.

  “Is that the dead squirrel?” she asked, looking at Tail.

  “No,” said Tail. “I’m the brave squirrel.”

  “You sure are, kid,” said Sugar. “You sure are.”

  Epilogue

  I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, J. J., you’ve traveled the world, seen it all, don’t you know a barbecue when you see one? Sure, kid, I know a barbecue. Every dog knows a barbecue. Best smell in the world. But why tell the Chicken Squad? They’re always looking for something to do. It keeps ’em out of my hair, plus, Tail finally learned his shapes. See? Everybody wins when you let them find their own way.

  And let’s not mention the eating-chicken thing, okay? They may act tough, but I don’t think they’d take it very well.

  Doreen Cronin is the author of many New York Times–bestselling picture books, including the Caldecott Honor Bo
ok Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and most recently, Click, Clack, Boo! Her hobbies include lurking in the shadows and solving imaginary crimes. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she keeps her fedora collection behind lock and key.

  Kevin Cornell draws from his intergalactic command base located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Some of his most successful Earth missions include illustrating Mustache! and Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett, Lulu’s Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst, and The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin. Make first contact with him at kevskinrug.com!

  Case design by Sonia Chaghatzbanian

  Case illustrations by Kevin Cornell

  Atheneum Books for Young Readers

  Simon & Schuster

  New York

  Meet the author, watch videos, and get extras at

  KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

  authors.simonandschuster.com/Doreen-Cronin

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  Also by Doreen Cronin

  Bounce

  Click, Clack, Boo!

  Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

  Click, Clack, Quackity-Quack

  Click, Clack, Splish, Splash

  Dooby Dooby Moo

  Duck for President

  Giggle, Giggle, Quack,

  M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual)

  Stretch

  Thump, Quack, Moo

  Wiggle

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2014 by Doreen Cronin

  Illustrations copyright © 2014 by Kevin Cornell

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  Book design by Sonia Chaghatzbanian

  The text for this book is set in Garth Graphic.

  The illustrations for this book are rendered in graphite, watercolor, and digital.

  0314 FFG

  First Edition

  CIP data for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

  ISBN 978-1-4424-9676-7

  ISBN 978-1-4424-9678-1 (eBook)