Business Chickens

Jess McGeachin

Puffin, 2023

32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

 9780143779179

Fran is not a good business chicken… She is not neat; does not arrive on time at work at her office job every morning and she certainly doesn’t take everything very seriously as the others do. Instead of staid business ties, she prefers brightly coloured scarves, and sharing treats and jokes is much more fun that staring at a screen all day.

When her out-of-the-ordinary ways come to the attention of management she is hauled before the boss, but no matter how hard she works and tries to conform, she is still laid off.  Is the end for Fran or is there another path she can follow?  One that not only makes her happy, but all those staid old chooks as well?

This is a new take on an old theme of having the courage to be yourself and follow your own dreams, but once again McGeachin has put his own spin on it so that first and foremost it is an engaging story that will make young readers really start to cheer for Fran and her right and need to be herself, as well as being free to explore different paths to discover just who that is. .