roosters

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet by Carmen Agra Deedy

| Tasha

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet by Carmen Agra Deedy

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin (9780545722889, Amazon)

La Paz is a village ringing with sound and singing; it’s noisy and bustling. But sometimes it’s a bit too loud, maybe some quiet would help. So the old mayor is sent away and a new mayor is elected. Don Pepe promises a quieter life, but his rules and laws start to become stifling and soon the village is silent. Then a rooster and his hen and chicks arrive. The rooster greets the day with a song right under the mayor’s window. As the mayor struggles to control one rooster and his singing by taking away more and more of his rights, the village begins to realize what they have given up.

Deedy, a Pura Belpre Honor winner for writing, has written a wonderfully readable tale that offers a folktale feel with a modern sensibility. This is exactly the picture book and fable that is needed in our society right now. It clearly speaks to the power of civil disobedience and the crucial need to even one voice to speak up, singing for themselves and the entire world.

Yelchin’s illustrations are rather zany, using bright colors and zigging lines. The rooster has a gorgeous nobility about him, piercingly straight and colorful on the page. He almost glows. In contrast, Don Pepe is colorless and drab, bringing gray onto the page along with him. His only change is to turn a sickly green as he is stood up to by the rooster.

Strong, vital and important, this picture book is a great pick to read aloud and discuss. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy received from Scholastic.

Review: Ten Eggs in a Nest by Marilyn Sadler

| Tasha

ten eggs in a nest

Ten Eggs in a Nest by Marilyn Sadler, illustrated by Michael Fleming

Released January 28, 2014.

Gwen the Hen laid eggs and Red Rooster was very excited to be a father.  Gwen refused to let him count the eggs before they hatched because it was bad luck.  So Red just had to wait.  When one egg hatched, he marched off to the market to buy the new chick one worm.  But when he returned home, there were two more new chicks!  He hurried back to the market after adding 1+2.  Then when he returned there were three more chicks.  1+2+3=6 newly hatched chicks and off Red hurried.  I bet you can guess what happened next!

This beginning reader nicely mixes counting and addition into the story.  Young readers will enjoy the bustling pace of the book and the tension of what Red will find upon his return to the nest.  The entire book has a warmth and sense of community that is tangible.  Simple text includes lots of numbers and remains simple for new readers throughout.

Fleming’s art is cartoon-like and very child friendly.  The colors pop on the white backgrounds, especially Red who is really a rainbow of colors including orange, purple and blue.  The oval chicks are bouncy and cute as can be. 

To sum it up, this is a great “addition” to new reader collections.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Edelweiss and Random House.

Review: The Loopy Coop Hens Letting Go by Janet Morgan Stoeke

| Tasha

loopy coop hens letting go

The Loopy Coop Hens: Letting Go by Janet Morgan Stoeke

This is the third Loopy Coop Hens book and it continues the silly adventures of these three goofy hens.  Here the question is why apples fall.  The hens think that it is probably the fox hiding in the tree and throwing apples at them.  They try to get Rooster Sam to help them, but he is so traumatized by the falling apples almost hitting him, that he runs away.  The hens know that it is up to them, so Dot volunteers to climb up the ladder to see what is going on and whether it is a fox or not.  Dot heads to the top of the tree and discovers two things:  why apples fall and how gorgeous the view is that high up.

Stoeke has a real touch for the absurd and silly.  In her flighty hens, she demonstrates how even the silliest can also be the brave ones.  Her art is simple-lined and really tells a lot of the story along with the words.  The book works well as a read-aloud and the pictures are large enough to work well with a group. 

This is a simple chapter book in the guise of a picture book, inviting beginning readers to give it a try.  Even better, it ends with chickens falling out of trees!  A perfect addition for fall and apple story times and units.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.