Can a crafty fox and a genius chicken complete an epic rescue mission… without one of them getting eaten? A funny action-adventure story from bestselling children’s author Dermot O’Leary, with glorious illustrations from Claire Powell.

Charles Redfearn is one of Britain’s very best spies. He’s dashing, he’s clever . . . but he can’t stop chasing chickens. He is a fox, after all.

When his French cousin goes missing in action, along with some vital war plans, Charles is forced to pair up with Gertrude Featherhorn – chicken and master code-breaker – to have any chance of a successful rescue. But will he be able to control his appetite?

Featuring the cunning French Resistance, a daring castle break-in and a race against time to stop plans falling into the wrong hands, Charles and Gertrude’s mission is going to be even more important than they could have imagined!

Set during the Second World War, this amazing story brings history alive in a brilliantly fun way for readers aged 7-12.

Dermot O’Leary is the bestselling author of the Toto the Ninja Cat series and Wings of Glory.

Praise for Wings of Glory:

“Full of adventure and heart” – Cressida Cowell, bestselling author of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

“Magnificent fun” – David Walliams, bestselling author of CODE NAME BANANAS

Dermot O’Leary

Dermot O’Leary is the bestselling author of the five books in the Toto the Ninja Cat series.

He started his career on T4 for Channel 4 and has also presented shows for both ITV and the BBC.

Dermot presents a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2, ‘Saturday Breakfast with Dermot O’Leary’. The show is produced by Ora Et Labora, the production company Dermot co-founded in 2008.

Ora Et Labora also produces Rylan’s BBC Radio 2 show, a number of podcasts and the TV show ‘Reel Stories’ for BBC2, looking back at iconic singers’ lives on screen.

In 2019, he launched a podcast, ‘People, Just People’ with Audible, featuring guests including Stephen Graham, Ed Miliband and Eni Aluko.

He lives in London with his wife Dee, their son Kasper and their cats Socks and, of course, Toto.

You can find Dermot on Twitter and Instagram: @radioleary

Claire Powell

Claire is an illustrator, writer and designer who lives and works in London. She has spent several years as a design director in the world of channel rebranding working for clients such as Nickelodeon, BBC Three, CBBC and BBC One. Claire has a tendency towards humour and bright, bold use of colour and she loves creating strong typographical layouts to help tell a story.

Related Resources

Spy Fox and Agent Feathers - A4 sheet of resources

Spy Fox and Agent Feathers – Activity Sheets

Topic: English, History

Age Range: 7-11

Related Book: Spy Fox and Agent Feathers

Book Creator: Dermot O’Leary

When some top-secret documents go missing, agents Charles Fox and Gertrude Feathers are called in to help get them back. There’s just one problem, Charles can’t stop chasing Gertrude . . .
Foxes and feathers collide in this laugh-out-loud adventure from bestselling author Dermot O’Leary.

Perfect for KS2, these resources, written by educational experts, Teacher’s Pet, explore the history of WWII and the French resistance.

Themes: World War II | French Resistance | Code-breaking | Animals

Download Resource