Rock the pigeon is considered the farm weirdo due to his love of dressing up. But word of his knack for creative camouflage gets around, drawing an older pigeon, Grandpouter, to the farm to recruit Rock as the Master of Disguise for a crime-fighting pigeon pack. He follows Grandpouter to the city, where he joins Frillback, Tumbler, and Homey to form the Real Pigeons squad. This highly entertaining series starter is divided into three mini-mysteries: "The Great Bread Crumb Mystery," "The Bat Trapper," and "Danger at the Food Truck Fair." Manic energy and flapstick comedy (get it?) ricochet through the chapters, especially in Wood's cartoonish illustrations, which often morph into graphic-novel-like panels. McDonald readily provides hilarious dialogue and high jinks for each scene, guaranteeing that the pages of this early chapter book will fly. This final adventure closes with a teaser of the Real Pigeons' next case, which happily will be landing on shelves later this year. Dog Man and Inspector Flytrap fans are ideal readers for this perfectly absurd new series. Pigeon facts conclude!

Gr 2-5 A goofy tale of cartoon pigeons that fight crime. Rock lives a simple farm lifehe has perfected the art of disguising himself and then jumping out to surprise his friends. No one is very impressed until one day, when an old pigeon called Grandpouter encourages Rock to join up with his crime-fighting pigeon squad. Along with Tumbler, Frillback, and "Homey" (the homing pigeon), Rock and Grandpouter embark on three crime-stopping missions. Each section of this high interest title contains chapters that unfold mysteries with complex and silly twists, including; the "Missing Bread Crumbs," the "Bat Trapper," and the grand finale that ties everything together: "Danger at the Food Truck Fair." The villains have benign motivations, and each bad guy is revealed to be a different species of flying animal. Wood's black-and-white sketches enhance the humor, and McDonald's puns will offer kids and parents alike a chuckle. Readers have the opportunity to learn "real" facts about "real" pigeons; rock, tumbler, frillback, and pouter pigeon traits are explained at the end. A fun readalike with Aaron Blabey's "Bad Guys" series or Cyndi Marko's "Kung Pow Chicken." VERDICT Perfect for emerging readers who want action, hilarious hijinks, and crime-fighting mysteries. This is the first in a series and is sure to earn fans ready for more adventures from these plucky pigeons. Tara Kehoe, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Charlotte, NC