On the Tweedy farm it's no great secret that any hen who fails to lay an egg in the morning will be on the chopping block that night. Ginger, a clever hen desperate for freedom and the feel of green grass under her feet, hatches escape plan after escape plan, only to be foiled by the sinister Farmer and Mrs. Tweedy. Then one day, her savior arrives in the form of Rocky, the Flying Rooster, a handsome escapee from the local circus. Convinced that Rocky--also known as "The Lone Free Ranger"--can teach all the chickens on Tweedy's farm to fly, Ginger and her fellow hens plot their best, and final, plan to bust loose. Based on the new clay animation film from the makers of the popular Wallace and Gromit series, Chicken Run is a touching, offbeat story of a hen house full of plucky chickens who exhibit admirable courage in the face of daunting odds. Humorous and irreverent (budding vegetarians will love this story of chickens refusing to become meals for humans), the book takes readers on a wild, imaginative ride of near misses, tender romance, and nerve-wracking adventure. Will the Tweedys' new pie-making machine make dinner of everyone? Will the chickens ever get off the ground? And what is Rocky's shameful secret? In the end you'll find what Ginger has known all along--you can't keep a good hen down. (Ages 5 to 9) --Marianne Painter