{"id":32700,"date":"2017-03-24T23:07:03","date_gmt":"2017-03-25T03:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=32700"},"modified":"2017-03-24T23:07:03","modified_gmt":"2017-03-25T03:07:03","slug":"review-of-the-rooster-who-would-not-be-quiet-by-carmen-agra-deedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=32700","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet, by Carmen Agra Deedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet!<\/em><\/p>\n

by Carmen Agra Deedy
\nillustrated by Eugene Yelchin<\/p>\n

Scholastic Press, 2017. 48 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Yes, I heard this book read by the author on Inauguration Day, 2017. Yes, this is a book with a message. Yes, I am a fan.<\/p>\n

(And Carmen Agra Deedy had first regaled us with stories of her family. She is a magnificent storyteller!)<\/p>\n

La Paz was a village \u201cwhere streets rang with song from morning till night.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can hear the rhythm to Carmen Agra Deedy\u2019s words with this early page:<\/p>\n

Dogs bayed,
\nmothers crooned,
\nengines hummed,
\nfountains warbled,
\nand everybody sang in the shower.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the village was a very noisy place, so the people elect a new mayor, who promises peace and quiet. <\/p>\n

The new mayor\u2019s rules start quite reasonable: \u201cNO LOUD SINGING IN PUBLIC,\u201d but they progress through NO LOUD SINGING AT HOME to NO SINGING to \u00a1BASTA!<\/em> QUIET, ALREADY!<\/p>\n

The village is now a very quiet place. Even the teakettles were afraid to whistle. But then a rooster wandered into the village with his family.<\/p>\n

When the little rooster awoke the next morning, he did what roosters were born to do.<\/p>\n

He sang:<\/p>\n

Kee-kee-ree-KEE!<\/p>\n

As his rotten luck would have it, the mango tree grew beneath the cranky mayor\u2019s window.<\/p>\n

Uh-oh.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A showdown proceeds between the rooster and the mayor. Here\u2019s the first encounter:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou, there!\u201d groused Don Pepe. \u201cNo singing! It\u2019s the law!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s a silly law,\u201d said the merry gallito<\/em>. \u201cSmell this sweet mango tree! How can I keep from singing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHumph! Then I\u2019ll chop down that stinky tree!\u201d huffed Don Pepe. \u201cWill you sing then?\u201d<\/p>\n

The plucky gallito<\/em> shrugged. I may sing a less cheerful song. But I will sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he did.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As the encounters continue, the rooster sings a lonelier song, a hungrier song, and a darker song.<\/p>\n

A crowd gathers for the final showdown, where the rooster says, \u201cI sing for those who dare not sing \u2013 or have forgotten how. If I must sing for them as well, se\u00f1or, how can I keep from singing?\u201d<\/p>\n

And when the mayor then threatens the rooster\u2019s life, he proclaims:<\/p>\n

\u201cBut a song is louder than one noisy little rooster and stronger than one bully of a mayor,\u201d said the gallito<\/em>. \u201cAnd it will never die \u2013 so long as there is someone to sing it.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And then the crowd joins in the little rooster\u2019s song and causes the mayor to flee.<\/p>\n

The Author\u2019s Note at the back brings the point home. And though technically, that probably isn\u2019t necessary, I so much love her way of putting it, and I feel the message is so timely, I\u2019m going to copy it out here:<\/p>\n

Roosters sing at sunrise; they also sing
\nat noon, sundown, and in the middle of the night.
\nRoosters sing when they please, and that\u2019s all there is to that.<\/p>\n

Much like roosters, human children are born with voices
\nstrong and true \u2013 and irrepressible.<\/p>\n

Then, bit by bit, most of us learn to temper our opinions,
\ncensor our beliefs, and quiet our voices.<\/p>\n

But not all of us.<\/p>\n

There are always those who resist being silenced,
\nwho will crow out their truth,
\nwithout regard to consequence.<\/p>\n

Foolhardy or wise, they are the ones
\nwho give us the courage to sing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thank you, Carmen Agra Deedy!<\/p>\n

carmenagradeedy.com<\/a>
\neugeneyelchinbooks.com<\/a>
\nscholastic.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/rooster_who_would_not_be_quiet.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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