Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!

by Janet Stevens, Janet Stevens (Illustrator), Susan Stevens Crummel

Overview

Big Brown Rooster is sick of chicken feed. So along with his friends—Turtle, Iguana, and Potbellied Pig—he sets out to make the most magnificent strawberry shortcake in the whole wide world. But there’s one problem: none of his friends knows how to cook! The team bravely forges ahead, and with Rooster’s help, they learn how to measure flour (not with a ruler) and how to beat an egg (not with a baseball bat). But can they keep Pig from gobbling up all the ingredients? Take an old family recipe, add four funny friends, and mix in some hilarious cooking confusion and you have a picture book treat for children of all ages!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780152056582
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/01/2005
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	200,784
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Janet Stevens is the author and illustrator of many beloved picture books, including Tops & Bottoms, a Caldecott Honor Book. With her sister and coauthor, Susan Stevens Crummel, she created the acclaimed bestsellers The Great Fuzz Frenzy; Help Me, Mr. Mutt!; The Little Red Pen; and more. She is also the illustrator of the Epossumondas books, written by renowned storyteller Coleen Salley. Janet Stevens lives in Colorado. Visit her online at janetstevensbooks.com.

Janet Stevens is the author and illustrator of many beloved picture books, including Tops & Bottoms, a Caldecott Honor Book. With her sister and coauthor, Susan Stevens Crummel, she created the acclaimed bestsellers The Great Fuzz Frenzy; Help Me, Mr. Mutt!; The Little Red Pen; and more. She is also the illustrator of the Epossumondas books, written by renowned storyteller Coleen Salley. Janet Stevens lives in Colorado. Visit her online at janetstevensbooks.com.

Susan Stevens Crummel has collaborated with Janet Stevens, her sister, on several picture books, including The Little Red Pen; The Great Fuzz Frenzy; Texas Bluebonnet winners Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! and Help Me, Mr. Mutt!; and the Texas Bluebonnet nominee And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon. A former teacher, she now writes children's books and makes author appearances at schools full-time. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas. Visit her online at susanscrummel.com.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A boisterous romp."—Publishers Weekly

"Part careful recipe, part wild farce, this gloriously illustrated picture book brings the farmyard into the kitchen with parody and puns and nonsense slapstick that kids will love."—Booklist (starred review)

"A tasty and joyous romp . . . promises messy kitchen fun."—The Bulletin

Editorial Reviews

"A boisterous romp."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Part careful recipe, part wild farce, this gloriously illustrated picture book brings the farmyard into the kitchen with parody and puns and nonsense slapstick that kids will love."—Booklist (starred review)

"A tasty and joyous romp . . . promises messy kitchen fun."—The Bulletin
—

From the Publisher

Humor is the chief ingredient in this entertaining tale. Big Brown Rooster is hungry for new flavors and seeks out his great-grandmother's cookbook (the Little Red Hen's appropriately titled The Joy of Cooking Alone). In this case, however, Rooster does manage to find some animals that agree to help him. The confused efforts of inept Iguana, greedy Pig, and patient Turtle are amusing, as are Stevenson's slightly skewed representations of familiar objects (Land o' Pond's butter, a T-REX measuring cup). Against all odds, the end result looks delicious, but clumsy Iguana drops the strawberry shortcake on the floor and Pig quickly gobbles it up. Luckily, Rooster is patient, quite determined, and, it turns out, generous. When the four friends create another beautiful cake, even the animals that chose not to participate are invited to enjoy the feast. The basic premise of the story gives it the feel of a fractured fairy tale, and the mix of friendship, fun, and food will satisfy the appetites of most readers. Whether they will take the time to read the sidebars that explain baking terms and techniques-or try the featured recipe-is less clear. Luckily, it's easy enough to skip over the sidebars; and, in fact, doing so makes the story flow more smoothly. The mixed-media illustrations are drawn on paper made from such ingredients as flour, flowers, eggshells, and even baking powder, giving the book added flavor.-Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA

School Library Journal

A cross between a picture book take-off of the story of the Little Red Hen and a cooking lesson on the making of strawberry shortcake. When Big Brown Rooster, great-grandson of the Little Red Hen, discovers a recipe for strawberry shortcake in her book, The Joy of Cooking Alone, he makes up his mind to be a cook. In a nod to the original tale, Dog, Cat, and Goose won't help, but Turtle, Iguana, and Pig volunteer. Panels running down the outer margins of some pages offer further information on cooking; in the meantime, the antics surrounding the baking of the cake overtake the studied connections to Little Red Hen. Though entertaining, the story is not seamless in its many functions; it ends on a flat note with a splat of the shortcake on the floor and a pep talk about teamwork. The real humor is in the hilarious illustrations, where a sketchier-than-usual style gives the book a more hurried appearance. Stevens never misses an opportunity for expressiveness in her characters; her inclusion of funny details adds more silliness to the story, from the overturned copper-pot hat on Turtle to the T-rex measuring cup. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews