Bawk to the Future Sends Two Time-Traveling Chickens Into Dinosaur Trouble

Time travel stories ask young readers to keep track of cause and effect: change something in the past, and the future may shift too. Bawk to the Future turns that idea into a comic chase led by two chickens, with dinosaurs, laboratory mishaps and a scientist in pursuit. Kaz Windness’s easy reader graphic novel is scheduled for August 2026 from Simon Spotlight, and its deliberately ridiculous setup has enough story underneath to keep the silliness moving.

A serum mix-up starts the escape

Tenders and Nugget begin the story imprisoned in a super secret lab. Dr. Dipping-Sauce is working on an evil plan to create a chicken army, with Super-Big serum among the experiments. But the doctor accidentally gives the chickens Super-Smart serum instead. The mistake gives the pair their chance to get out, setting off a flight through a maze of outlandish scientific projects.

That opening gives the adventure a clear comic engine: the chickens are trapped, the lab is full of strange experiments, and their escape keeps carrying them toward bigger trouble. The names help establish the book’s broad, food-themed humor from the outset. Tenders and Nugget are easy to picture as a team, while Dr. Dipping-Sauce sounds like exactly the sort of pursuer a story about experimental chickens calls for.

The pair eventually discover the Super Secret Time Travel Lab. Its time bucket is about to be launched to the late Cretaceous, and they climb aboard. Their destination is no safe refuge. T. Rex is a relative, but still wants to eat them. Dr. Dipping-Sauce follows them through time, so the chickens have to contend both with a hungry dinosaur and with the scientist they escaped.

A comic premise with a time-travel thread

The dinosaur encounter makes the time jump immediately legible to a young audience: the past brings danger, even when it’s full of creatures the chickens can claim as family. From there, time travel, dinosaurs and mad science collide, changing the course of history before the chickens ultimately win. The description promises plenty of disorder, but also a story with enough cohesion to make the chase gripping rather than a string of unrelated jokes.

That balance matters in a book aimed at children learning to follow a longer narrative. A fast-moving premise can invite readers in; recurring characters and a goal give them something to follow as the action gets stranger. Here, the central question is simple enough to hold onto: can Tenders and Nugget stay ahead of Dr. Dipping-Sauce and survive the dangers of the past? The answer unfolds through comic obstacles, while the time-travel setup leaves room for readers to think about how one event might alter what comes next.

The source reviewer calls the adventure “wild and ridiculous (in a good way)” and says cheering for the chickens is fun. That enthusiasm is a useful guide to the book’s appeal: readers who enjoy absurd humor and energetic peril are likely to be more at home here than children looking for a serious treatment of prehistoric life or science. The time bucket and serum are parts of the comic invention, not a promise of detailed scientific explanation.

Who might enjoy it

Bawk to the Future looks suited to a young reader drawn to science fiction, especially one who likes the idea of time travel but prefers it served with broad jokes and a brisk adventure. Its graphic novel format gives the story a visual frame for the experiments, chases and dinosaur encounters; the easy reader format positions it for children building confidence with books. Parents and booksellers considering it can take the premise at face value: this is a playful ride through an imagined past, not a quiet natural-history tale.

The time-travel element also gives adults a natural opening for conversation after reading. What would happen if a character changed an event in the past? Could the chickens’ actions affect the future they left behind? The book’s reviewer sees it as a gateway to that kind of thinking about timelines and the trajectory of the future. The questions add a little mental play to a story whose first job is to make its readers laugh.

With its August 2026 publication date, Kaz Windness’s adventure offers a distinctive pitch for young sci-fi readers: two clever chickens, a botched experiment, a dinosaur-era escape and a relentless scientist. The appeal rests on the combination of ridiculous comedy and a plot that keeps moving. For children ready to follow a time-travel chase, Tenders and Nugget give them a pair of unlikely heroes worth rooting for.