Brewster Rooster

Joan Buchanan is a children’s storyteller and author of Taking Care of
My Cold and What If I Were in Charge?

This is an endearing tale of an apprentice rooster named Brewster who
gets out of control practicing his crowing, incurring the farmer’s
wrath and the threat of the soup pot. Brewster manages to stay out of
the farmer’s way long enough to become a hero.

This story is not anthropomorphic: Brewster thinks and acts like a
rooster. Children 3 to 8 will identify with him, especially with his
early mistakes and unintentional troublemaking.

Bernie Lucas’s language flows. There’s a good mix of various
sentence lengths, as well as repetition of simple sentence structures,
such as “The cows mooed. The horse neighed. The dog barked.” Lucas
integrates playful language when Brewster practices his crowing:
“Cockle - doodle - do - doo, / Doodle - cockle - do - do, / Cockle -
doodle - doodle - doo, / Doo - do - cockle - do - coo.” The story has
a strong traditional flavor, given the plot line and the abundance of
male characters.

Russ Willms’s stylized illustrations, which were nominated for a
Governor General’s Award, are very polished. They move the text along
and convey emotions well. While some pictures are highly detailed, down
to the cracks in the barn boards, others, like the ones of Brewster, are
quite spare and reminiscent of paper cutouts. Different visual
perspectives also add variety.

Well bound and able to withstand much eager handling, Brewster Rooster
is highly recommended for young listeners and beginner readers.