Alonzo and the Meteorite (The Adventures of Alonzo the Chicken series)

Alonzo the chicken wakes up with a crash one sunny morning to find everything is topsy-turvy and the wrong way round. For during the night a meteor brushed the Earth’s surface with sufficient force to send it spinning in the opposite direction. Puzzled, Alonzo sets off to consult William the Wise Owl. Meanwhile, everything is getting worse – zebras have developed spots and polar bears are now black – and the prime minister is panicking. Then Alonzo comes up with the wackiest plan ever to restore order and get the Earth to spin the right way, which requires cooperation and practice from birds in every corner of the world.

The story gets off to a flying start, the writing full of energy and imagination. Whoever heard of a meteorite capable of turning the sky yellow and the sun blue, for example? But it does lose some of its tautness by relying on an excessive use of dialogue to further the plot. The accompanying illustrations are quirky and expressive, a delightful addition to the text.