Synopsis
As King of the Barnyard, Kadoodle thinks he can do whatever he wants, including crowing at all hours of the day—and night. No one in the farm can get any sleep. Finally, Honketta the goose takes it upon herself to set this rooster straight. She tells Kadoodle a clever story about another king, whose big round eye shines in the sky during the day and whose chorus heralds his arrival every morning. Kadoodle wants to sing in this noble chorus, but doing so requires timing—and patience. Now he is perched to find out what it really means to be King of the Barnyard—but only if he can wait until just the right moment to do just the right thing.
Children's Literature
All of the creatures on Farmer Bales' farm are too exhausted to go about their daily duties. Even the farmer is worn out from lack of sleep. Kadoodle, the farm's rooster, is convinced that he is the King of the Barnyard and can do whatever he wants to do. What he wants to do is crow loudly at the break of every thing: he crowed at the "break of five minutes before midnight," and at "the break of eight minutes after midnight," and at the "break of three o'clock in the morning." The animals and the farmer take turns trying to talk Kadoodle into being quiet at night. But his ego is such that he continues to feel that he can do anything he wants. Finally Honketta, the goose, "takes matters into her own feathers." She convinces Kadoodle, that he may be King of the Barnyard but that there is also a King of the World. This King has an entire chorus of roosters around the world to keep him awake and active. That very night Kadoodle dreams about the chorus of roosters. He imagines hearing their crowing as it spreads from farm to farm around the globe. Needless to say, he decides to join the King's chorus and only crows at the break of day—just when his turn comes around. The story is cute enough in and of itself, but this book will make an excellent teaching tool for discussing the earth's rotation and "daybreak" around the world. The illustrations are colorful, employing a bright palette and combining a rustic, country look with humorous expressions on the animals' faces. One double spread features ten different kinds of roosters, including: leghorn, silky, white giant, etc. We also get to see a number of different geographic locations and famous landmarks. Readers will enjoy identifyingHolland, Egypt, England, Paris (even most young listeners will recognize the Eiffel Tower), terraced farms of Southeast Asia, and others. This will be a great read aloud.