Review: There's A Chicken In The House


It's no secret, I love chickens. Good old chooks, suppliers of revered cackleberries. So, when There's A Chicken In The House blew in like a hen through an open door, I was secretly joyed beyond words. That this is a long-awaited reteaming of picture book greats, Sonya Hartnett and Lucia Masciullo also gave me much to crow about. 

It's a simple enough tale about an errant chook who interprets a windblown open door as her personal invitation to see how the other side live. The young mistress of the house is a ball of consternation, attempting to warn those in charge of animal behaviour and then trying in vain to remove said chook according to orders. Alas, the plucky pullet assumes an air of sky-high indifference and continues her inspection through the house until she ends up in the big-sister's-bedroom.

Having already disgraced herself in the bathroom because 'There's no limit to how bad a chicken can be,' according to Dad, our protagonist is terrified the outcome for them both is in serious jeopardy should her sister discover this gross discrepancy of privacy. But our audacious avian is only getting started and retires to the lounge room where a few moments of shared congenial TV watching takes place. 

This bridging of tolerance with acceptance results in a friendship neither saw coming until said chicken is safely reinstated to her coop with a maybe promise to relive her adventure with her new friend. 

This delightful nod to backyard pets and the extraordinary bonds they can develop with their people, has enough peaks and twists to keep young readers chuckling and cluckleing away even if they are not yet acquainted with the art of keeping backyard chooks.

Harnett's first-person prose emulates the wild freedoms, gay abandonments and also unreasonable fears young children oscillate through each and every day. Children don't see differences as we do. A waylaid chook might at first seem an unplanned blight but soon assumes an undertaking laced with uncertainty and delightful risk. 

Like the cat who refused to come down and go home, Masciullo's renditions of the chook who refuses to get out, are pulsing with gentle energy and exuberance. Our little red hen is striking and distinct on pages of softly hued pastels. Fans of Masciullo's work will no doubt spot the various 'easter eggs' secreted throughout this tale, ode to her former illustrative works. Extra points for the on-point portrayal of our chicken's poo - as a long-time keeper of chooks, this struck a particularly cute and comic chord! 

There's A Chicken in The House is a winner for pet lovers but will endure a least two chook lifetimes of reading or more because it embraces curiosity and aplomb in a way that only the very confident, kids - and chickens - can. 

Title: There's A Chicken In The House
Author: Sonya Hartnett
Illustrator: Lucia Masciullo
Publisher: Penguin, Puffin Imprint $24.99
Publication Date: 4 August 2026
Format:  Hardcover
ISBN:  9781761344497
For ages: 3 - 8
Type: Picture Book

Buy the Book:  Penguin

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