The New Rooster

May 16, 2022
Linguistics, home cooking, and eye-popping graphics make splendid bedfellows in Alexander’s (Swarm of Bees) tale of a feathered friend finding his professional footing. A yellow polka-dotted rooster with a comb and wings of fire-engine red parachutes in “just in time for his new job in a new country”: waking up the guests at ZZZ Hotel. “OCKCAY AWAY OODLEDAY OODAY!” he cries, “just as he had every morning back home.” But none of the animal guests even stirs (a dog snuggled in bed with a teddy bear snores away), and when the rooster becomes even more insistent, the guests respond to the wake-up call with interjections of annoyance in multiple languages. Sure that he’s failed, the rooster cooks a hearty breakfast to sustain him on the long trek back home. But the smells rouse the guests, who “shared and smiled and chatted” before teaching the rooster how to crow in each of their native languages. (The final page confirms the rooster’s mother tongue as pig Latin.) Rubber stamp, ink, and digital collage illustrations are the very picture of rise-and-shine sunniness, with big bold shapes and a crafty aesthetic that makes every scene an invitation to chat and chew. Ages 4–8. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House.

June 1, 2022
Can the new rooster overcome a language barrier to succeed at his job? A rooster arrives in a new country to start his job rousing lodgers at the ZZZ Hotel and plans to crow the way he always has, with a hearty "OCKCAY AWAY OODLEDAY OODAY." Unaccustomed to this call, the guests (depicted as anthropomorphic animals in the lively, cartoon-style digital art) stay fast asleep. When a second try fails to stir them, the rooster employs a megaphone. Instead of being grateful for the wake-up call, however, the animals respond with multilingual cries of protest before returning to sleep. The rooster is baffled--not to mention concerned about job security. To soothe himself and prepare for another move, he cooks up a big breakfast. As the aroma wafts into the hotel, the guests follow their noses to the feast. Now, instead of protesting, they praise the meal in different languages. Food is the great equalizer: "It was something everybody understood," reads text on the penultimate spread, with an accompanying illustration showing a long line of animals in silhouette waiting to enter the hotel. Intraiconic menu text on the final spread introduces the "OCKCAY AWAY OODLEDAY OODAY DINER," a new business spurred by the rooster's culinary success and delivering a feel-good ending to this newcomer's tale. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Humorous fare to welcome into storytime. (Picture book. 3-6)

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