Clara is a chicken with a destiny. She wants to be a detective like her favourite TV star Amelia X. Clara has watched dozens of episodes when she is hiding out in the house on the farm where she lives. Why is she hiding? The rest of the chooks pick on Clara because she’s quirky, small and scruffy, and the farm owner knows it.

After solving a crime on the farm, Clara wants more of detective life, so when a police car arrives she grabs her opportunity. On the run again from the chook bullies, she hops into the police car and into her new life of detective work.

First she has to convince the police man’s daughter Olive (who discovers her), that she is a crime-fighting chicken and looking for a case to crack. With the use of a cellphone, they learn to communicate and Clara is in heaven – finally working on a case of her own. Someone is sheep rustling in the area, but no-one has left a clue for Clara to collect so she can begin her investigation. Clara is a clever chicken however, and with her own police badge (a plastic one Olive hung around her neck), Clara enlists the help of the local roosters.

While Clara is thinking case-cracking thoughts, Olive and her dad are struggling after the loss of her mum. Olive is also being bullied so she misses her mum even more. She begins to write a diary in place of talking to her mum, so the story blends from just Clara’s point of view, to both Olive’s diary and Clara’s daily happenings.

Together, they make a great team, but if the sheep rustlers aren’t caught soon, Olive’s dad may lose his job. Time is ticking and Clara decides to go undercover…

Quick Review

A Clue for Clara has multiple levels. Firstly of course is the exceptional Clara, a misunderstood, scruffy, small but incredibly plucky and brave chicken with a career in mind far from the chook yard.

She is determined to be a detective and sets out to achieve just that. Then there is Olive – a young girl who is grieving the loss of her mum, trying to be brave at home with her busy police officer father who is also struggling.

The different points of view balance each other wonderfully. Clara is clever and her viewpoint on human behavior is hilarious. I laughed out loud more than once.

Olive’s real-life problems keep the story on an even keel, even making Clara’s talents feel real.

A funny mystery that will delight animal lovers and young readers alike.

Author – Lian Tanner

Age – 7+

(Chooks, Chickens, Animals, Birds, Farm, Case, Mystery, Detective, Police, Ticking clock, Bullies, Bullying, Humour, Funny, Crime)