• Age: 5 to 7
• Grade: k to 2

Kung Pow Chicken is the superhero everyone has been waiting for!

This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!In this exciting full-color series, Gordon Blue transforms into Kung Pow Chicken, an avian superhero who fights crime in the city of Fowladelphia. The first book in the series kicks off when Gordon's birdy senses lead him to a festival. Suddenly, POOF! Feathers fill the air and shivering naked chickens are everywhere. Why have all these chickens lost their feathers? Forced to wear wooly sweaters, the city itches for a hero. Kung Pow Chicken hops into his Beakmobile to save the day!

Cyndi Marko is the author/illustrator of the Kung Pow Chicken series (Scholastic, 2014) and This Little Piggy: An Owner's Manual (Simon & Schuster, 2017). She studied Fine Arts at Okanagan University College in Kelowna, B.C., where she learned to turn old bicycle parts into works of art, and not much else. From there she went on to Humber College in Toronto, Ontario, to study graphic design and prepress technology. She currently lives in B.C. and is a moderator of the SCBWI Blueboards.

Cyndi Marko's profile page

• Winner, Chocolate Lily Book Award (BC Children's Choice)
• Winner, OLA Silver Birch Express Award

Praise for Let's Get Cracking!:

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, January 2014

*"Marko's debut is a perfectly puntastic page-turner. Hybrids of comics and traditional pictures, the goofy all-color illustrations propel the fast-moving, high-interest story. 'Ham and eggs!' --you don't want to miss this!" -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"This hilarious kickoff to the Kung Pow Chicken series [is] just the thing for beginning readers." -- Publishers Weekly

"Step aside, Captain Underpants! There is a new hero in town--this time, with feathers.... Fresh, funny, and packed with full-color illustrations, this new transitional series will be an instant hit with readers looking for silly fun and a touch of mystery." -- Booklist

"Frequent poultry plays on words are sure to ellicit giggles from young readers. This [series] will have broad appeal among independent readers who have outgrown easy readers but are not yet ready for books relying more on text than illustration." -- School Library Journal

Praise for Bok! Bok! Boom!:

An Amazon Big Spring Book, 2014

"Plenty of punny action in the colorful mix of comic panels and short paragraphs of text. Fans will be glad Kung Pow has at least two more adventures on the way." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Jokes and puns will keep the attention of eager new readers looking for a fast-paced, funny adventure with unlikely superheroes." -- School Library Journal

Praise for The Birdy Snatchers:

An Amazon Editor's Pick, Summer 2014