'Bertie is NOT looking forward to spending the summer holidays on stinky Long Bottom Farm. But things take an interesting turn when he encounters Nugget, the alien chicken. Nugget's mission is to find the Earth's most valuable resource and transport it back to Nurgle-7, and he needs Bertie's help. But what could the Earth's most valuable resource be, and can they find it in time to stop the Nurgles exterminating the Earth?!'
Bertie and the Alien Chicken is the new release from Barrington Stoke, and is a book that doesn't take itself too seriously, and sets out to just have some silly fun. The story follows Bertie, a young boy who has been told that he's going to have to spend the summer holidays with his uncle Brian, who runs a farm in the middle of the countryside. Bertie's mother is having to travel to America on business, and his father left a few years ago and can't take Bertie in because of his newborn baby. The problem is, Bertie really doesn't want to spend time on his uncles farm.
However, soon after arriving Bertie accidentally discovers that one of the chickens on the farm can talk. Thinking he might be going mad, Bertie is surprised to discover that the chicken is actually an alien called Nugget, and that he's come to Earth to find out what the most valuable resource is. And if he doesn't get it, the planet gets blown up.
Bertie and the Alien Chicken is a book that has a lot of humour to it. From the very first pages it's clear that this is a book where jokes and silliness is high on the list of priorities. And thankfully, it pretty much lands perfect every single time. Yes, this is a children's book and the humour is designed for younger readers, but many of the jokes actually had me chuckling too. Jenny Pearson clearly knows that parents are going to be reading books to their kids, or reading along with them, so the book needs to be funny in a way that isn't going to be getting the adults reading it rolling their eyes. And the book manages to do that. There are some things that are a bit too silly, but kids will love, but for the most part it was enjoyable and amusing to read as an adult.
This is something that I think helps this book a lot too, that it's not treated too seriously or too realistically. There are many Barrington Stoke books that are much more serious in tone and feel quite realistic; this is not one of them. It forgoes the desire to be realistic in order to be fun; and it certainly manages to be that.
The book comes with a number of illustrations, by Aleksei Bitskoff, and the artwork works really well with the tone of the book. Everything is a bit cartoonish, a bit exaggerated, and the artworks puts me in mind of some fun kids shows. The art is used to help kids get a good visual idea for the story and characters, but there are a few times that the art is also used for some visual gags. Much like the written ones, these are fun moments that are sure to make kids laugh aloud, and the adults smile along with it.
Overall Bertie and the Alien Chicken was a lot of fun. It's a nice story about making friends, and about personal introspection at times too, and it's a genuinely entertaining and enjoyable experience.
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