Saturday, August 24, 2024

Lillie. When the Rooster Crowed

When the Rooster Crowed is a children's book by Patricia Lillie, with art by Nancy Winslow Parker, published in 1991. It is available at the Internet Archive.

Here is a YouTube read-along:

The story, such as it is, is about a farmer who wants to keep sleeping, even though his wife tells him it is time to get up. This is not told cumulatively (although it could be, and I think it would be even cuter that way!); instead, it is told with a refrain, so as each new animal makes its sound, the refrain is "the rooster crowed..." For example: When the pigs went, "Oink, Oink," the rooster crowed, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" 

Then, there is an accumulative finale after the farmer's wife yells, "ALBERT!" That's when there is a repetition of all the sounds that came before: cow, horse, pigs, chickens, and then the farmer finally gets up and takes care of all the animals in the same order: milks the cow, feeds the horse, slops the pigs, gathers the eggs, and then sits down for breakfast. It's a fun variation on the animal-sounds tradition as in "Old MacDonald," etc.

The story could definitely use some more animals, so a fun way to work with this book would be to expand the cast of characters. The dog and the cat appear in the illustrations in the farmer's bedroom, for example, but they don't get to meow and bow-wow along with the other animals! Plus there are even more kinds of animals that you can find on a farm. On the farm where I lived in Poland we had geese and turkeys, and they make great noises! Maybe by the time ALL the animals make their noises, and after the farmer takes care of all their needs, it might even be time for lunch!


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