Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? A Hard-boiled Mystery

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Co-Authors / Illustrators
Publisher
Age Range
4+
Release Date
September 16, 2025
ISBN
978-0823458271
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A barnyard mystery takes on a noir-esque spin in this hilarious picture book chock full of puns, perfect for fans of 7 Ate 9 and Interrupting Chicken.

Inspector H. Poulet has a new case on her wings. The Chicken has apparently crossed the road, and no one knows why.

Can the Inspector get to the bottom of this tangled nest of questions? Squawking from one udderly unhelpful clue to the next, H. Poulet follows The Chicken’s path across the farm. But the case seems totally scrambled! If the Inspector can’t solve it soon, she’ll have egg on her face.

In the end, the mystery resolves itself with a sunny-side-up twist: a surprise birthday party awaits H. Poulet on the other side of the road. The animals flock together for a barnyard bash, and the Inspector retains her eggcellent reputation—despite having missed all evidence of the party.

From the bestselling author of Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?, this laugh-out-loud farm adventure has wacky, kid friendly illustrations by animator Mark Fearing. Readers young and old will love spotting the clues that H. Poulet overlooks and relish every cleverly crafted pun.

Editor review

1 review
An Investigation of Poultry and Puns
(Updated: June 08, 2026)
Overall rating
 
4.5
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
4.0
When Inspector Henrietta's friends barge in with an urgent request, this sleuthing chicken is eager to pounce on the case - Why did The Chicken (a notorious barnyard figure) cross the road? The trail of clues takes her from pig pen to horse barn, and just when she thinks she's cracked it, her friends turn the mystery on its head with a surprise birthday party.

This is a fun blend of whodunnit detective and nonstop wordplay, with non-stop puns and references to common sayings. The illustrations range from idyllic farmyard scenes to brooding shots of Henrietta deep in thought, eyes suspicious beneath a wide-brimmed hat in classic detective fashion. With ample clues scattered throughout (hidden balloons, all of her friends wearing matching looks of wide-eyed innocence), the reader is invited to suspect something is afoot before Henrietta gets to the bottom of the mystery and all is revealed with a happy ending.

For fans of puns, detective stories, and barnyard animals getting up to mischief.
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