- Graphic Novels
- Ages 7–10
- Comedy
Chicken Hill: Attack of the Zombie Cactus
Book 1 of 2 in Chicken HillView the full series
A brilliantly weird full-colour graphic novel packing three bonkers adventures into one book: alien-believing cats, an invasion of zombie cactuses and an underwater kingdom of frogs. A gag-a-page riot for fans of Dog Man and Bunny vs Monkey.
- Best for7–10
- FormatGraphic
- Length224 pp
- Read aloud~1 hr45 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Comedic
- Conversational
Tone
- Funny
- Silly
- Absurdist
- Irreverent
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Welcome to Chicken Hill, a perfectly 'normal' town where the pets talk, a guinea pig plays rock and roll, and cats are convinced the aliens are coming. At the centre of it all is Ferdy, a tech-wizard and inventor extraordinaire, usually found tinkering in his shed with his farting, self-obsessed pug Gripper and Tink, his brother's forever-tired cat. Across three brilliantly bonkers stories, Ferdy and his gang face down a UFO-obsessed conspiracy, an invasion of zombie cactuses out in the desert, and a very soggy adventure into the underwater realm of King Frog. Debut author-illustrator Beccy Blake fills every page with pen-and-ink chaos, bright pops of colour and, according to its young fans, a fart on nearly every page. Fast, funny and gloriously silly, this full-colour graphic novel is a perfect fit for readers who love Dog Man and Bunny vs Monkey, and its three complete stories make it ideal for building reading stamina.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
Aimed at 7-10s reading independently and a fun shared read from around 6. The full-colour comic format and three short, complete stories make it especially good for reluctant readers and stamina-building.
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- Best fit · 7–10
- Read aloud · 6–9
- Independent · 7–10
Prose load
Light
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Workable
Works well for
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
2 / 5 · Better outside bedtime
Sensitive-child
4 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Gross and silly
- Reluctant readers
- Graphic novel fans
- Laugh out loud
Avoid if
- Dislikes toilet humour
- Wants quiet stories
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
Three bonkers stories, a farting pug, a rock-and-rolling guinea pig, zombie cactuses and an underwater frog king: it's exactly the kind of gross, silly chaos kids can't get enough of. Ferdy's inventions and the wall-to-wall jokes make every page a giggle.
- Trickery and cleverness
- Talking to animals
- Adventure and freedom
- The underdog winning
- Having a secret base
Why parents love it
Three complete stories in one full-colour book make it a brilliant stamina-builder for developing and reluctant readers. The humour is daft rather than mean, and Beccy Blake's inky, colourful art gives it real energy and huge reread value.
- Shared humour
- Quick to read
In the series
Chicken Hill.
2 books · open the series →
About the author & illustrator
Beccy Blake.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
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