The Chicken Doesn't Skate - Softcover

Gordon Korman is the author of The 39 Clues Book 2: One False Note, which debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and The 39 Clues Book #8: The Emperor's Code. Gordon has written more than sixty books for kids and young adults, including Zoobreak, Swindle, and Son of the Mob, as well as the On the Run series and the Island, Everest, Dive, and Kidnapped trilogies. A native of Ontario, Canada, Korman now lives with his family in Long Island, New York.

Grade 4-6-Prolific Korman once again successfully employs his tried-and-true formula: zany situations; a fast pace; likable, well-drawn characters; contemporary dialogue; and lots of humor. In this current offering, he combines several unlikely sixth-graders from Minnesota's South Middle School, including a hotshot hockey star; an animal-rights activist steeped in pop psychology; a computer nerd who writes slimy, bloody screenplays; and a young scientist trying to fit into a new school as well as impress his Nobel Prize-winning scientist father. When a chicken named Henrietta, the key component of Milo Neal's science-fair project on food chains, also becomes the hockey team's mascot and only chance at winning the championship, conflict ensues. Feelings escalate when the students realize that Milo's plan for completing the link in the chain actually involves fried chicken, and a series of highly improbable but very funny events occur. That computer nerd Zach, who has never been on the team, is discovered to be an awesome goalie is perhaps the biggest stretch of all, and yet perfect in the context of the book. Similarly, the resolution is neat, pat, and yet satisfying. Told from alternating first-person perspectives that nicely reveal lots about each character, the novel is sure to appeal to Korman's many fans who are willing to suspend disbelief for a rollicking story.
Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME
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