Wake up, Henry Rooster!

Alas, I have not taken a book to lunch in many a day and hope to change that practice in just a few minutes. This morning has been spent cleaning off the various stacks from my work area, deleting email, reading email, and completing the most hated task of the new year, scheduling graduate assistants and student workers for the upcoming semester. It is always a challenge to make their availability correspond to adequate coverage for the resource center. Unfortunately, we are currently in a bit of a purchasing funk at work. Though I have several carts prepared, they will not be submitted until the end of the month. That makes finding books to read and review a bit difficult. Luckily, there are always a few titles trickling into the library. That said, today's entry is Wake up, Henry Rooster written by Margriet Ruurs and illustrated by Sean Cassidy.

Henry Rooster has a problem, he likes to stay up all night and sleep during the day. His father bemoans Henry’s odd sleeping habit, but his mother explains, “Henry’s just not a morning rooster.” One morning Henry’s father leaves for a Roosters’ Union Convention and assigns Henry the task of waking up the farmer while he is gone. Mayhem follows soon after as Henry struggles to find his own way of waking the farm at dawn without giving up late night fun. A wise old goat’s advice presents an unusual twist to the final resolution of Henry’s problem. Lively illustrations of Henry’s messy room, his gray shadowed gloomy demeanor trying to raise the sun after a particularly long night, and his fun blue sneakers worn to skateboard with the horses, are among the many humorous details that highlight this book. A fun read aloud, children will relate to Henry’s antics.

Tags: Margriet Ruurs, Sean Cassidy, Wake Up, Henry Rooster, Juvenile books, Juvenile fiction