Thundercluck!: Chicken of Thor

by Paul Tillery IV, Paul Tillery IV (Illustrator), Meg Wittwer (Illustrator)

Overview

Cancel your dinner plans and dig in to Thundercluck! by Paul Tillery IV and Meg Wittwer. This is the first book in a hilarious new series stuffed with Norse mythology, black-and-white illustrations by the dozen, and a superhero chicken ready to ruffle some feathers.

When danger calls . . . BAGAW! calls back!

When an evil chef faces off against the god Thor, a hen's egg is caught in the crossfire and hatches into powerful chick called Thundercluck, beloved by the gods but a target for evildoers everywhere. For his own safety, the young chicken must fly the coop and hide out on Earth. But when the Under Chef returns and threatens to make the hens of Valhalla into rotisserie, Thundercluck scrambles to reclaim the power of thunder and hatch a plan to defeat him.

Thundercluck! Half mortal. Half god. All-natural chicken.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250211477
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Series:	Thundercluck!
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	640L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

Paul Tillery IV lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. He's always loved drawing, storytelling, and off-kilter comedy. He earned his MFA in animation from SCAD-Atlanta in 2014 and taught animation at SCAD in Savannah, Georgia. Thundercluck! is his first book.

Co-illustrator Meg Wittwer was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She enjoys drawing and communicating with others through art and collaboration. She also digs birds (especially chickens). Meg earned her BFA in illustration from SCAD in 2016, and she now works as an illustrator in Atlanta, Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

This rousing adventure introduces a new hero to the world . . . [An] epic debut.” —Booklist

“An ideal adventure for more reluctant readers . . . An absurd story executed with admirable gravity and skill.” —Kirkus

“This absurd premise delivers on its goofy humor . . . for those readers not yet ready for Percy Jackson.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“For mythology loving readers who are too young for Rick Riordan.” —School Library Journal

“Tillery dishes out bountiful allusions and wordplay both smart and silly . . .[along with] chirpy dialogue, rat-a-tat action, and spry illustrations.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

11/12/2018
Feathers—and humor—fly freely in this series launch, a farce lightly based on Norse mythology. Thundercluck is a chick with magical powers. She hatched from an egg that was laid by Thor’s treasured hen, Hennda, who was struck by a lightning bolt summoned by the god during a heated argument with his chef, Bones, who had long sought to dine on the chicken. Bones vanishes, but a seer, Saga, portends his return in one of her jauntily rhymed predictions and reveals that the villain is now craving Thundercluck. A young Valkyrie, Brunhilde, takes the chick under her wing and is heartbroken when the gods whisk her friend off to Earth for protection. Brunhilde is eventually sent to fetch him, and the two (sporting matching horned helmets) take a comedic whirlwind tour of the nine realms on a quest to retrieve Thundercluck’s lost powers and best the nefarious chef. Tillery dishes out bountiful allusions and wordplay both smart and silly (“It’s a chicken wrap,” Brunhilde quips when Thor disguises Thundercluck with his cape), and his note that the novel began as an animated short does not surprise, given its chirpy dialogue, rat-a-tat action, and spry illustrations. Ages 8–12. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly