Beak to the Future (Two-Headed Chicken 2) by Tom Angleberger

What worked:

The book will appeal to readers who love the absurd. The two-headed chicken has an Astrocap that allows it/them to travel back and forth through time. That’s exactly what happens throughout the whole book. Illustrations of the timestream happen to look like a giant broccoli but that’s just a coincidence. The impossible is possible in the timestream as the chicken visits times in history that might/or might not have happened. It encounters some famous personalities like George Washington but also shrinks to microscopic size during prehistoric times. There’s even a scene where it visits the Garden of Eden. Dinosaurs and moose (the green kind) are recurring characters as they appear in various scenes.

The story includes random pages that share different topics that may or may not be related to the plot. One section shares the tale of Friedrich Bangerter, who is the first time-traveler, and presents his three laws to avoid “evolutionary mayhem”. Another page assigns a US History Test and the book ends with Jimmy’s fun quiz. Many of the questions are multiple choice but they all allow readers to consider their own silly answers.

This graphic novel blends colorful illustrations with a good deal of narrative to present the strange story. The pictures immediately display changes as the two-headed chicken transforms into a two-headed television, dinosaur, penguin, and alligator, to name a few. These transformations are good indicators that history is messed up. “Humorous” knock-knock jokes are wielded like weapons by the chicken and they’re sure to make readers groan. The author pokes fun at himself and readers in the dialogue to add more levity to the story. Readers should be prepared to expect the unexpected as the author lets his imagination go free.

What didn’t work as well:

The overall book doesn’t have a compelling plot. About every five pages, the chicken disrupts a moment in history and then must travel to a different time to try to set things right. On the other hand, the brief episodes may appeal to young readers since it won’t take long to finish the chapters and the whole book.

The final verdict:

This style of writing can be expected from the author of the Origami Yoda stories so this book will appeal to lovers of his zany scenarios. I can easily recommend the book to those with a high tolerance for the absurd.