Two-Headed Chicken

by Tom Angleberger, Tom Angleberger (Illustrator)

Overview

“As deliciously original and absurdly wacky as any Angleberger creation. . . . Knee-slappingly funny and utterly original at every level.” —Booklist (starred review)

Anything is possible in the multiverse, including a madcap adventure starring a plucky two-headed chicken. But look out—there’s a chicken-hungry moose in pursuit! In this fourth wall–breaking graphic novel, our double-headed hero is chased through dozens of bizarre universes, from an ocean planet with a disturbing mermoose (that you can never unsee) to a world where chickens drive cars, and even to a land covered with . . . pizza sauce? With each BZOOP! of the universe-hopping Astrocap, the only thing to expect is the unexpected. Packed with jokes, quizzes, and games, the two-headed chicken’s wacky escapades will remind readers of such favorites as Dog Man and CatStronauts. Absurdist superstar and New York Times best-selling creator Tom Angleberger makes his original graphic novel debut with this lightning-fast caper that will have readers laughing out loud and eager for each new page.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536229035
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	05/13/2025
Series:	Two-Headed Chicken , #1
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Tom Angleberger is the author and illustrator of many children’s books, including the Origami Yoda series, which has sold millions of copies worldwide. He lives in Virginia with his wife, Cece Bell.

Editorial Reviews

As deliciously original and absurdly wacky as any Angleberger creation. The digital artwork combines off-kilter, hilarious, and wonderfully disruptive graphic novel animation with old-fashioned multimedia collage. . . It is knee-slappingly funny and utterly original at every level. . . as quick and easy to devour as fried chicken.
—Booklist (starred review)

Quizzes, puzzles, and even an affidavit give readers a chance to catch their breath while taking in punch-line pile-ups and fourth-wall smackdowns, which together offer all the pleasures of gulping from a comic firehose.
—Publishers Weekly

You cannot go wrong with a book that has a chicken in it. This book has a two-headed chicken, so it is better. The only thing that could possibly improve such a book would be if it had a moose. This one has a moose. There is other stuff, too, but I am not going to tell you the whole thing.

—Daniel Pinkwater, author of Kat Hats and Crazy in Poughkeepsie, neither of which has a chicken, but they’re still good

Tom Angleberger brings his trademark cleverness and good-natured silliness to the graphic novel format. Never a dull moment with a chase across the multiverse—this book will keep you on your toes!

—Jen Wang, New York Times best-selling creator of Stargazing

All Raul the Thirds in all possible universes love this book, and so will you. I guarantee it!
—Raul the Third 2.0

From the Publisher

07/25/2022

Rendered in bold hues and a loopy, cockeyed line, this graphic novel by Angleberger (the Inspector Flytrap series) capitalizes on two seemingly unstoppable forces: the multiverse story craze, and kids’ love of being barraged by goofy jokes. Readers are asked to imagine they’re one head of a cockeyed, two-headed chicken; the other head is the reader’s sister, who’s “a lot smarter than you” and has invented the duo’s often unreliable mode of transportation, the universe-hopping Astrocap. Together, they evade the clutches of Kernel Antlers, a furious green moose whose catchphrase is “I am gonna fry you!” The chase makes stops in universes that spoof Charles Dickens and Harry Potter, one in which “lava is actually lukewarm pizza sauce,” and another in which everyone uses “ginormous” old cell phones. (Yet another confronts the protagonists with the classic time-travel dilemma of whether to clobber the adorable baby moose version of their nemesis.) Quizzes, puzzles, and even an affidavit give readers a chance to catch their breath while taking in punch-line pile-ups and fourth-wall smackdowns, which together offer all the pleasures of gulping from a comic firehose. Ages 7–10. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

09/01/2022

Gr 3–6—In this zany graphic novel, a two-headed chicken learns the basics of multiverse travel. One of our hero's heads is a stand-in for "you," the reader. The other is a science whiz who creates an Astrocap, a blue-and-red-antennaed beanie that allows its wearer to hop from world to world. Two-Headed Chicken launches across time and space to avoid being devoured by Kernel Antlers, a wily, chicken-hungry moose. However, obstacles and surprises await on every stop of this mission. Two-Headed Chicken travels through many universes—a pencil-drawn one, one where chickens drive cars, one in which our hero is the Mona Lisa, and so on. At each destination, Antlers is still in hungry pursuit. Will Two-Headed Chicken ever find a place to rest? In addition to the main story, this book has mazes, puzzles, activities, and various philosophical asides from a fish with a mustache. There is something fun for every reader! Ellis's colors are distinct and add much to the excitement. Angleberger writes the first chapter as a humorous primer on the concepts of the multiverse. The entire plot rests on what would be an incomprehensible stew of ideas in another creator's hands; however, Angleberger explains these ideas in a manner accessible to younger readers. The drawings and page layouts are frenetic, capturing all the excitement of this hilarious journey. VERDICT Readers who enjoy Aaron Blabey's "Bad Guys" series and Dav Pilkey's various universes will love this first book in what is sure to be a beloved series.—Jennie Law

School Library Journal

2022-06-08
In this romp through the multiverse, Angleberger asks readers to imagine a universe where they are a two-headed chicken.

It sounds like the start of a silly joke. One head—the reader’s—is generally very stupid; the other—belonging to the reader’s sister—is generally very smart. The alleged plot hops universes with every chapter as the eponymous plucky cluck attempts to escape an “enraged moose named KERNEL ANTLERS” whose mission in life is to fry and eat the chicken. Various bizarre creatures and historical figures offer obfuscating commentary on the chicken’s shenanigans or guidance, and finally, a hypothetical reader, fed up with their aimless escapades and thwarted jokes, threatens to abandon the book and erase the chicken from existence in every multiverse if they don’t buck up and face the moose. Will our intrepid hero prevail? Readers may never know—at least, not in their universe. Scattered self-deprecation may not have been unwarranted, as there’s very little within the book to capture readers’ attention (aside from reading on to learn whether a plot will ever coalesce). Myriad potentially exciting worlds and plotlines are touched on but never explored, and the characters are too flat to allow readers to become invested in their plights. The bold, expressive art, almost reminiscent of margin doodles, does the lion’s share of the storytelling. A few interactive pages offer amusing diversions but feel rather out of place.

Funny but ultimately ineffective as either a joke book or a story. (author’s note) (Graphic novel. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews