Gareth P Jones shares his fun-packed picture book, Chicken vs Egg
About Author
Gareth P Jones and illustrator Craig Shuttlewood share their hilarious new picture book, Chicken vs Egg - an action-packed race to find out which came first . . .
Gareth P Jones lives in London and divides his time between writing books, producing TV programmes, spending time with his family and playing a ludicrous number of stringed instruments.
Illustrator Craig Shuttlewood works in fine art and has exhibited in galleries from London to New York. He now focuses on picture books, and has illustrated over 20 books from his home in Malaysia.
Interview
March 2026
Chicken vs Egg: Which will come first in this action-packed race?
ReadingZone caught up with author Gareth P Jones and illustrator Craig Shuttlewood to find out about their hilarious new picture book, Chicken vs Egg, which pits Chicken against Egg in a race to find out which came first!
With puns, visual gags and a surprising twist at the end, Chicken vs Egg will be enjoyed by young and old, as Chicken and Egg battle it out around the race course.
Review: "The plot is witty and has some puns that grown-ups will enjoy, making this a lovely book to share together."
Q&A with Gareth Jones and Craig Shuttlewood, introducing Chicken vs Egg
"Have you ever asked yourself which came first? The chicken or the egg? This book answers
that question with a race. Chicken vs Egg."
1. Thank you both for joining us on ReadingZone this month! This is the first picture book you've made together. How did you enjoy working together?
Gareth: I'm not a visual writer. I don't see images in my head when I write; I hear voices. So I find the process of making a picture book quite mysterious. Working with Craig has been an absolute pleasure from first sketch to final book. I love all of the humour he's added and I appreciate all of the problems he solved in order to make the book work.
Craig: Very easy. Gareth has some great books under his belt so I knew the story would be a winner and have a nice sprinkle of humour. I thought I liked puns but have to accept defeat on that one. Hopefully I created enough space!
2. Tell us about your new picture book, Chicken vs Egg?
Gareth: Have you ever asked yourself which came first? The chicken or the egg? This book answers that question with a race. Chicken vs Egg. Who will come first?
3. So is the 'chicken or egg' question something you've thought about much - or did something else inspire your story?
Gareth: The book was inspired by a school visit and a conversation with a student who was also writing a (different) story about chickens and eggs. The question struck first. Then the answer. Or, now I think about it, it might be the other way round.
4. How did you select the egg and chicken to take part in this race?
Gareth: I believe that both the egg and the chicken were hand-picked for the book from thousands of candidates. I can't tell you why they were chosen as I wasn't involved in that process. Craig probably knows.
Craig: I don't know either. Someone must do!
5. Chicken vs Egg reads like a race commentary. Was it hard to get this right?
Gareth: It would have been easier if I had any interest in sport. I have ZERO interest in sport. I don't even watch the Olympics so yes, it was hard. I did have to watch a bit of sport to find the voice.
6. Craig, how did you visualise the racecourse that Gareth described?
Craig: I do remember this one foxing me a bit. In the end I decided (as is often the case the case) I was overthinking the whole thing and ended up with quite a simple map. This is in a crayon style, like it was hand drawn by the chicken, or maybe the duck (egg's coach), then pinned to a tree. Not the egg though because that's just silly and fox would mess it up or eat it.
7. Gareth, you're known to put your books to music. Is there a song for this one?
Gareth: There are currently eight songs, which make up a mini-musical of the version of the book. I'll be performing them in schools and see which songs work best. So far, the penultimate number, 'Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?' is the highlight as everyone enjoys singing 'To Get to the Other Side!'
8. There are some very funny visual gags, too - What are your favourite laugh-out-loud moments from the race?
Gareth: My favourite bit is when the chicken has to cross the pond on the boat with the bag of grain (and the fox hot on her heels). It's a gag carefully aimed just above the heads of younger readers of the book, but Craig's pictures make it accessible to all ages.
School Visits by Gareth P Jones: School visits are a real highlight of the job for me. I have books, songs and sessions for all primary ages and I often put on mini-musicals in school, where we bring my picture books to life through songs. You can contact me via my website garethwrites.co.uk.
Thank you!
Chicken vs Egg
