The ROOSTER –

Perhaps one of the most industriously charming Roosters in children’s literature is the Rooster in Ilse Plume’s faithful retelling and illustrating of the Brothers Grimm timeless fable The Bremen Town Musicians.

The Rooster itself is a message, lesson and symbol of finding a new path, never giving up and wonderful team work.

But what is the real tweet-tweet on the Rooster in real-life?  Here are a few little tidbits to pass along to your kids and grandkids to combine literature and life:

– The word Rooster derives from the word roost… meaning a perch or resting place for bird or fowl.

– A Rooster is known as a Cockerel in some parts of the world.

– A Rooster will dance for a hen he’s attracted to.  He opens his wings like a beautiful fan to attract her attention and then struts his stuff.

– A Rooster is a great protector of his flock of hens.  He is on particularly high alert when his hens are incubating their eggs.  Even human beings are at risk of the Rooster’s protective attitude.

– Roosters have what is called a pecking order of rank and importance within a flock of chickens, and Roosters are known to fight for the #1 position.  How do they fight?  Pecking and pushing and beating other Roosters aside who dare challenge the position of the #1 Alpha-Male.

– A second-in-command Rooster is the Beta-Male.  He takes the position of Alpha-Male when he’s strong enough to win his place as #1 or the former Alpha becomes too old and weak to maintain the position.

– Some breeds of Roosters, such as the the Black Jersey Giant, will perch in trees to scan his territory for potential danger to his hens.

– Hens will lay eggs without the help of a Rooster, but a Rooster is needed to fertilize eggs that produce chicks.

– A Rooster will crow at any indication of danger or disturbance in his coop.  When he crows, the message is clear:  STAY AWAY.

– A Rooster has an internal clock that tells him to anticipate sunrise.  His song, his cock-a-doodle-do, begins his hunt for food and total establishment of his territory.

Ah.  The Rooster in real-life.  Combining literature and life makes reading so much more special.

Reading The Bremen Town Musicians with your kids and grandkids, with knowledge of the Rooster as a real-life bird, gives you so much to discuss… and your kids so much to think about as they embrace the literature.

You will feel the distress of the Rooster in the story as he crows beautifully and tells of his plight of perhaps landing in his mistress’s soup.

You will sense the Rooster’s teamwork and joy of his journey to become a musician with his new friends.

You will hear the Rooster’s COCK-A-DOODLE-DO as he helps to save his friends from danger… and find a new path in life.

You will combine both life and literature!

Join me here each day in August for AUGUST TWEET-TWEETS on 365 Days of Literacy for Kids! A little fun, a little learning and a bit of “tweet-tweet”!