Take Me To Your Leader by Leone Agnew. Illus. Paul Beavis. Pub. Puffin, 2024.

Ashton Hill primary school has 17 students of which Lucas, his sister Ellie and friend Harriet are students. The Minister of Education Mrs carter decides to close the school down and the children want to protest.

Their teacher Mr Ngata tells them protest will fall on deaf ears and any petition will be put on the scrap heap. Lucas wants to persist and so does his friend Harriet.

While flying a kite marked with high-viz tape in the evening causes a fuss when a local chicken farmer Mrs Jones reports a UFO in the area and it is printed in the national newspapers. Tourists start clambering into the town poking their cameras and noses into recycling bins almost like they were hoping to find dead alien bodies.

Lucas, Harriet and co promote the alien theme in the hope that it will create jobs and people will stay in the town of Ashton Hill and the school will be saved. Lucas has another reason to stay as his father is buried in the town and he wants to keep in touch. Will it work? read the book and find out..

Very funny in places and other issues like the treatment of battery chickens, vegetarianism, climate change, government responses to protest, school closures etc come into the story. The kids also use a blog, Twitter and other social media to promote their actions.

A modern story and great read -a – loud.

Marvellous Marvin by Nadia Lim Illus. Fifi Colston. Pub. Scholastic, 2020.

This is a real life story of marvellous Marvin a chicken that Nadia Lim and her son Bodhi helped to hatch.

The true story is at the start of this picture book and we see the parents and Marvin pecking his way out of the egg.

Then we have the illustrated story. Four eggs left behind and getting cold. Collected put in a basket and kept warm. Marvin is born “a handsome boy, bright-eyed with a fluffy white bum”. He has the running of the house and garden and even poos on dad’s shoulder. he is a member of the family.

Fifi Colston’s illustrations are a treat and show all the personality of this adventurous chicken.

Nadia Lim completes the book with some egg-citing facts about chickens including the fact that they poo about 12-15 times a day and the book is completed with an egg-cellent pancake recipe and more pictures of the real Marvin and his family.

A very satisfying, entertaining and informative picture book for juniors.