Starla Jean Cracks the Case

January 1, 2023

Gr 1-4-Starla Jean and her chicken Opal Egg (who she walks on a leash and treats somewhat like a pet dog) explains that every person is an expert at something. Starla Jean considers herself a chicken expert and shares that her sister loves bubbles, whether it's a bubble bath or blowing them. Her neighbor Dani likes to go looking for buried treasures in the dirt. While on a walk with her sister Willa and Opal Egg, Starla Jean finds a bead and begins to wonder who it belongs to. Finding the bead's owner becomes an entertaining mystery with a satisfying conclusion. This is a great introductory series for children who are beginning to read on their own. Main characters are cued as white. VERDICT A third entry in this pleasant series that showcases the daily adventures of the ever-curious Starla Jean, with quirky humor, large font, and delightful illustrations.

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2023
Back for a third adventure (Starla Jean, rev. 3/21; Starla Jean Takes the Cake), our ­heroine and her chicken, Opal Egg, have a mystery to solve. Starla Jean (who now considers herself a "chicken-everything expert") summarizes key points from the ­previous titles as she shares her chicken knowledge along with topics of expertise found among her family and neighbors (e.g., "Mr. Marcos, whose house is near the park, is an expert gardener. His dog, Dean, is great at digging holes"). By ­chapter two, the plot moves forward as Starla Jean, with baby sister Willa in a wagon, ­unsuccessfully tries to leash Opal Egg for a walk, but Opal Egg insists on walking untethered. The chicken leads them to a mystery when she unearths a yellow bead while looking for snails. As with her chicken-care tactics, Starla Jean's attempts to solve the mystery include a litany of tangents, wacky observations, and wrong turns, ­allowing both readers and Opal Egg to stay one step ahead. With each newly discovered clue, a neighbor joins the pursuit, and eventually this merry crew finds a rainbow of lost beads and their original owner too. Colorful spot art on every page adds information and comedy to the narrative and, along with Starla Jean's penchant for lists and repetition, helps keep the story accessible for new readers. Julie Roach

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

April 1, 2023
Starla Jean and her bug-eyed side-chicken, Opal Egg, are back for a third neighborhood adventure...and this time it's a mystery! Starla Jean, expert on all things chicken-related, embarks on a well-meaning but rather erratic walk with her beloved pet and her bubble-obsessed little sister, Willa. Along the way, they uncover a handful of mysterious beads. More neighbors join the walk until the case is finally cracked, just in time for a bubble-filled celebration. Starla Jean's indelible voice continues to be the strength of this series, especially evident in the polished comedic timing of the dialogue. In Chapter 1, Starla Jean introduces each of her neighbors in the same order she encounters them in the following three chapters. This structure, along with the large font and plentiful white space around and between words, provides support for developing readers transitioning to early chapter books. Similar in visual layout and text complexity to Laurel Snyder and Emily Hughes' Charlie & Mouse series, each page has a handful of sentences with occasionally challenging vocabulary. There are a few idioms that may be a little daunting to readers, but overall the text uses familiar words and phrases. The playful illustrations feature soft colors and humorous facial expressions. Even readers unfamiliar with Starla Jean's world will take to this winsome tale. Starla Jean, Willa, and most characters are depicted with pale skin; neighbor Nate is brown-skinned. An egg-cellent addition to this humorous series for readers en route to early chapter books. (Fiction. 6-9)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2023
Grades 1-3 "There is one thing you need to know if you're going to walk a chicken," writes young Starla Jean. "You can go on a walk with a chicken . . . but you can't take a chicken on a walk." And indeed, as Starla Jean chases after her pet chicken, Opal Egg, it proves the truth of that insight, darting off and ultimately finding several small, mysterious, colored beads that turn out to be from a lost necklace belonging to Dani, an elderly treasure hunter. But where is the shiny white opal that went with the beads? Leave it to Opal Egg to pull off one more pullet surprise by pulling out the missing stone from Dani's mop of shiny white hair! Being a "sister expert" as well as a "chicken expert," Starla Jean sees a bubble party as the obvious next step, and Kang gathers the entire cast into a final full-spread scene to fill the air with soap bubbles. An amicable exploit for emergent chapter-book readers who are fans of the vivacious hen and her equally lively keeper.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2023
Back for a third adventure (Starla Jean, rev. 3/21; Starla Jean Takes the Cake), our heroine and her chicken, Opal Egg, have a mystery to solve. Starla Jean (who now considers herself a "chicken-everything expert") summarizes key points from the previous titles as she shares her chicken knowledge along with topics of expertise found among her family and neighbors (e.g., "Mr. Marcos, whose house is near the park, is an expert gardener. His dog, Dean, is great at digging holes"). By chapter two, the plot moves forward as Starla Jean, with baby sister Willa in a wagon unsuccessfully tries to leash Opal Egg for a walk, but Opal Egg insists on walking untethered. The chicken leads them to a mystery when she unearths a yellow bead while looking for snails. As with her chicken-care tactics, Starla Jean's attempts to solve the mystery include a litany of tangents, wacky observations, and wrong turns, allowing both readers and Opal Egg to stay one step ahead. With each newly discovered clue, a neighbor joins the pursuit, and eventually this merry crew finds a rainbow of lost beads and their original owner too. Colorful spot art on every page adds information and comedy to the narrative and, along with Starla Jean's penchant for lists and repetition, helps keep the story accessible for new readers.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)