Rotten potatoes in the toy box, mouldy orange peel on the carpet - Milly McGinty may have the messiest bedroom in the world, maybe even the universe. When the sound of skittering feet has Mum shopping for rat traps, Milly must clean her room or risk being grounded for life. But no one is prepared for what she discovers hiding beneath the smelly socks. No rats, but a trio of baby griffins that Milly calls the chittens.

Half chick, half kitten, the chittens are mythical, adorable and thriving in the chaos of Milly’s room. Where did they come from? What do they eat? And how can Milly convince Mum that mess is best before the chittens are sent off to the local zoo?

With so many questions and so little time, it's lucky that
her new friends have some unexpected talents...

Milly and the Chittens is a fun, action-packed story
for ages 7 to 10.

Three tiny creatures were huddled together in the centre of her sweatshirt. They cheeped at her with open beaks and waved their short, stubby wings, just like baby birds.

But these birds had four legs and a tail!

The strange creatures ran at her. Milly jumped back until she was up against the wall and could go no further. Squeaking madly, the four-legged birds surrounded her and began pecking hungrily at her shoes. Their sharp beaks made little holes in the leather.

"Hey!" Milly said, pulling her foot back. One of the creatures spat out a chunk of rubber and squawked at her unhappily.

They opened their beaks and fluttered their wings. Baby birds did that to their mothers all the time. Milly knew exactly what it meant: Feed me! Feed me!

But what?

This is a fantastic book! The story is fast paced, full of action, fun and would make great bed-time reading material, although the end of each chapter would be greeted by cries of 'just one more chapter pleeeeeeze'! I love the fact that a child's messy bed room provides the perfect hatching conditions for threatened, mystical and unreal creatures, that the villian demands piles of forms to be filled in for keeping threatened wildlife in captivity at great processing costs and that ultimately it is a DOC officer who helps save the day by designating the griffin-hatching habitat as having significant conservation values.
Rosemary Millar - GoodReads

This book was so amazing, I recommend it to everyone! My 9 year old cousin loved it - she said that it was the best book in the world! Julie is a fantastic author, and I look forward to more Chitten books in the future!
Ella Halstead - GoodReads

Read more GoodReads reviews

Milly McGinty is the first to say she is not bedroom-proud. There's dirty clothes, rotting potatoes, chip packets and discarded toys on the floor. Milly soon discovers that under the chaos is hiding an even bigger surprise: a trio of mysterious creatures. The half-kitten, half-chick fluffies are so strange she's not even sure they're real. She nicknames them the chittens and tries to rear them without her mum knowing at first, and other people who might wish to harm them. Milly realises it is not easy hiding chittens when they're feisty and full of mischief but soon finds out there's an extra bonus looking after chittens.
A story about believing in yourself and persevering with your dreams. A delightful chapter book for 7-9 year olds. Young girls will fall in love with the chittens, chuckle with the humour and want to keep reading until the end to see how Milly solves the problems.
Julie Scott has been writing for most of her life. She has a collection of degrees from various universities, including a Ph.D. in Vision Science and a Master of Creative Writing. She lives in a very messy house with her husband, three kids and an excessively bouncy Irish terrier called Finn. But, unfortunately, no chittens.
KidsBooksNZ