Reviews for Acoustic Rooster and his barnyard band

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A bass-guitar-strumming rooster dreams that he'll win the annual Barnyard Talent Show; his jazz-playing bandmates and competitors include Thelonius Monkey, Mules Davis, Duck Ellington, and Ella Finchgerald. The hokey story and middling rhymes, accompanied by rambunctious art, are informed by a mind that knows this subject cold, as evidenced by Alexander's back-of-book jazz timeline, bios, and glossary. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.


Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Winning actually isn't everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer "Bee" Holiday, Rooster's chances sure look goodparticularly after his " 'Hen from Ipanema' [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon."but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world's best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander's versifying isn't always in tune ("So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame..."), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower's canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz's instruments, history and best-known musicians.In all, a high-stepping riff on the pleasures of live music in general and the history of jazz in particular. (Picture book. 7-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Back