When a jazz-loving rooster sets his sights on winning a barnyard talent show, he realizes he can't do it as a solo act. He's up against the talents of Mules Davis's cool duo and Ella Finchgerald's singing group.
Colorful artwork from artist Tim Bowers ensures this story doesn't miss a beat. A glossary of musical terms and intruments rounds out this perfect introduction to jazz for young readers.
Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band
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Book Description
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Amazon.com Review
Nominated for the 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards in the category "Outstanding Literary Work - Children."
From Booklist
Acoustic Rooster hopes to win the Barnyard Talent Show. But first he needs a band. Turned away by Thelonius Monkey, Mules Davis, and Ella Finchgerald, he starts his own jazz band with Duck Ellington, Bee Holiday, and Poncho Ernesto Cruz. Focusing on the performers, anthropomorphic animals who bear resemblance to the real-life musicians in small details (Duck’s top hat, Bee’s flower in her hair), Bowers’ illustrations cleverly fade everything outside of the spotlight to shades of gray. Rooster cries when he comes in second to Mules Davis, but he heads proudly back to the coop when he garners the trumpeter’s praise. Although the jazz allusions (explained in an afterword) will fly right over young readers’ heads, kids will enjoy the notion of the contest. Despite some clunky rhythms, this may be a hit for storytime, accompanied by the real-deal music. Pair this up with Chris Raschka’s Mysterious Thelonious (1997) and Andrea Davis Pinkney’s Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra (1998) and Ella Fitzgerald: Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa (2002) . Grades 1-3. --Patricia Austin
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More About the Author
Kwame Alexander is a poet, children's book author, playwright, producer, and the author of fourteen books including Crush: Love Poems for Teenagers, and a children's picture book, Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band. Since 2006, Kwame's Book-in-a-day writing & publishing program for middle and high school students has created more than 1500 student authors in 35 schools across the U.S., and in Canada and the Caribbean. Kwame regularly conducts creative writing workshops and performances in middle and high schools. Most recently, he served as Guest Author for the Grand Cayman Libraries Summer Reading Programme, Poet-in-Residence at Foxcroft Girls Boarding School in Virginia, and Poet-in-Residence for Loudoun County Virginia's year-long, award-winning, Try Poetry 2010 initiative. In the summer of 2010, Alexander created the Book-in-a-Day International Fellowship, and took eight writer/educators on a creative journey to Tuscany. In 2012, he will take eight new writer/educators to Brazil. The Kwame Alexander Papers, a collection of his professional and personal documents, is held at George Washington University's Gelman Library. Recently, Kwame served on the advisory board for Nikki Giovanni's The 100 Best African American Poems. He is currently the poet-laureate of LitWorld, a literacy organization dedicated to supporting the development of literacy in the world's most vulnerable communities.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The book is aimed at grade K and up, but it was my almost-4 year old nephew who grabbed the book to read rather than his older sister. He loves music so he was drawn to all the images of musical instruments in book. The play on the names of the jazz greats means nothing to him, of course, but I thought they were cute. He enjoyed the rhyming sound of the text, and calls the book "Koostic Rooster".
I liked that the author reinforced what the jazz terms were by providing a glossary at the end of the book. I think that will be helpful to older children, though unless they hear the actual music, I don't think the musical terms like "scat" are going to mean that much to them.
The graphics were gorgeous in the book, covering the pages with images and color, making the book eye-catching. My only complaint, and this is because I know from observation that it's something that little kids enjoy in books, is that there are no - for want of a better term - subplots to the images. You get the straight scene and that's it, with no secondary or tertiary characters doing anything in the background (e.g. two mice in a jazz club sitting at a table with one giving the other a rose). When reading books to little kids, those tiny little scenes help to create a better sense of place in stories and sometimes are the things that pique their interest in the graphics more, not to mention giving jump-off points to the adult reading the story to them to elaborate on, providing a greater depth to the scene and text.
The book is sturdy so it should hold up for years. I liked that the topic was about jazz because I think that it's important for kids to learn about and be exposed to all types of music to broaden their appreciation of it.... Read more ›
I liked that the author reinforced what the jazz terms were by providing a glossary at the end of the book. I think that will be helpful to older children, though unless they hear the actual music, I don't think the musical terms like "scat" are going to mean that much to them.
The graphics were gorgeous in the book, covering the pages with images and color, making the book eye-catching. My only complaint, and this is because I know from observation that it's something that little kids enjoy in books, is that there are no - for want of a better term - subplots to the images. You get the straight scene and that's it, with no secondary or tertiary characters doing anything in the background (e.g. two mice in a jazz club sitting at a table with one giving the other a rose). When reading books to little kids, those tiny little scenes help to create a better sense of place in stories and sometimes are the things that pique their interest in the graphics more, not to mention giving jump-off points to the adult reading the story to them to elaborate on, providing a greater depth to the scene and text.
The book is sturdy so it should hold up for years. I liked that the topic was about jazz because I think that it's important for kids to learn about and be exposed to all types of music to broaden their appreciation of it.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Acoustic Rooster is a good read, even for adults. The characters names' are amusing and hail from jazz legends. This offers a great opportunity to teach your child about jazz, it's history and to get them interested in this music genre. The message of the story is a good one as well, teaching children to strive for what they wish to do, not to give up and that it's okay not to come in first all the time. Great book!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By AJ
Format:Hardcover
Kids will love all the jazzy characters in this story, brought to life with Alexander's lively rhymes and Bower's funky artwork. Educators and parents will love the play on names (Bee Holiday, Mules Davis...) and the addition of the thorough glossary and historical jazz timeline. And all readers will find themselves in Rooster, who learns there's more to winning than taking home the prize.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By OCMD
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
My grandsons, four and six, are learning guitar and both boys love animals so this was an instant hit with both of them. The colorful pictures were a big draw and they liked the rhyming text. They didn't know the jazz greats alluded to in the text but it didn't detract from a fun read for them. I would recommend it for youngsters interested in music and animals.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
As Acoustic Rooster finds his band, the reader is taken happily along. It's interesting--in a great way--that hs didn't win the talent show, but he had a really good time. The reader does, too.
The artwork is terrific. I wish it had ALL been in vivid color, but I can see how how putting parts of the pages in shadow emphasizes the focus. It is also a lot like the atmosphere of musicians. There is area that is highly lighted and area that is not.
The glossaries are highly educational and make the book very useable for giving new knowledge to young and older about jazz.
It is a beautiful book, and definitely makes me smile!
The artwork is terrific. I wish it had ALL been in vivid color, but I can see how how putting parts of the pages in shadow emphasizes the focus. It is also a lot like the atmosphere of musicians. There is area that is highly lighted and area that is not.
The glossaries are highly educational and make the book very useable for giving new knowledge to young and older about jazz.
It is a beautiful book, and definitely makes me smile!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By soulatpeace
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I Received this book as part of the Amazon Vine Program.
This is one excellent picture book for kids to learn about music and instruments.
My son loved it. It is a story about a rooster who has a band and he entered
a contest on their farm.
Cute characters and cute story about following your dreams.
Highly recommend it.
This is one excellent picture book for kids to learn about music and instruments.
My son loved it. It is a story about a rooster who has a band and he entered
a contest on their farm.
Cute characters and cute story about following your dreams.
Highly recommend it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By E.S
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This is a great book with lots of great pictures and a cute rhyme that runs throughout the book. My son loved the pictures and we have had many discussions about what we see and the different animals. The book is well made and has coped well with my four year old turning the pages.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
"Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band" by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Tim Bowers is a brightly colored, upbeat and engaging book that any child age 3-6 would like to add to their book library and read over and over. But the "Acoustic Rooster's Jazz Glossary" added to list of famous jazz players, places and music with a snippet of info about each and the jazz timeline add a whole new dimension and worth to the book. The age grouping for readers can be expanded with these addtions. The person reading can suppliment the book with a jazz CD and an opportunity is opened to acquaint children with jazz through playing an actual song or two that illustrates what Acoustic Rooster is talking about in the book - jazzy riff, a boosa nova, swing. This book could be a child's 1st taste of different kinds of music and how each makes you feel and it is all delivered in a cute little story!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great story about not giving up on your dream
I read this to my daughter at the local library and thought it would be a great book to buy and gift to her kindergarten class after reading it to them for her birthday. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Stephanie Mashia
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for musicians and non-musicians
We met Mr Kwame at a farmers market. He is as passionate about his book as he is for his audience. Our daughter loves the book, and even learned how to swoon! Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dhuff
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cute little book with a nice homage to jazz music
My grandfather was a jazz pianist and I know he would have gotten a kick out of this book. I enjoy reading it to my daughter and it's a fun little story with bright and colorful... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Summer B. Frace
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good illustrations, fun animals, consistent rhyming...and references...
I have to say that "Acoustic Rooster" has been more for my amusement than for my daughter's. It's the story of a rooster who plays the bass guitar (not an acoustic guitar) and... Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. GARRATT
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clever and fun
The clever integration of jazz history into this well-illustrated children's book really causes it to shine. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Adam B. Shaeffer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, entertaining book with fun names
We enjoy getting new kids books for our kids, and this one was no exception. It's a fun story of a rooster who plays the guitar, and a contest going on at the farm. Read more
Published 13 months ago by J. Hansen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jazzertainment for the masses!
This book is a pleasure to read and an excellent primer for young people learning about Jazz. I especially like Alexander's realistic portrayal of the Jazz artist's (the rooster)... Read more
Published 13 months ago by M. Smith
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good try but hits a flat note
First-time children's book author Kwame Alexander is right to promote musical appreciation for young children, but Acoustic Rooster fails to hit the lyrical sweet spot. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Jason Kirkfield
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