Cock-A-Doodle Christmas! [Hardcover]

Will Hillenbrand (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2007 | Age Level: 4 and up

When Old Rooster leaves the farm to live with his sister, young Harold takes over the job of waking the farm animals each morning. But Harold has a soft voice, and nobody can hear his cock-a-doodle-doo. Then one evening, the sky lights up and a miraculous birth takes place, causing Harold to shout the good news for all to hear. In this Christmas story, Will Hillenbrand shows with gouache, ink, and collage illustrations that even a small creature is changed by the birth of the Christ child.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Will Hillenbrand has illustrated many beloved picture books, including Kiss the Cow by Phyllis Root; Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash! by Barbara Odanka; and What a Treasure! by Jane Hillenbrand. He also wrote and illustrated another Christmas story, Asleep in the Stable. Will enjoys visiting classrooms to talk about the creative process involved in making a picture book. He lives with his wife, Jane, and their son, Ian, in Terrace Park, Ohio.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 31 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Childrens Books; Stated First Edition edition (October 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761453547
• ISBN-13: 978-0761453543
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,149,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Will Hillenbrand has illustrated many beloved picture books, including "Kiss the Cow by Phyllis Root"; "Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash!" by Barbara Odanka; and "What a Treasure!" by Jane Hillenbrand. He also wrote and illustrated another Christmas story, "Asleep in the Stable". Will enjoys visiting classrooms to talk about the creative process involved in making a picture book. He lives with his wife, Jane, and their son, Ian, in Terrace Park, Ohio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful twist on the classic Christmas story!, June 27, 2011

By 

Michelle A Hodge (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cock-A-Doodle Christmas! (Paperback)

We wrote the following on our blog -[...]
Mommy Bookworm's Thoughts: This book is a wonderful Christmas story! My daughters enjoy listening to me read it because of my interpretation of the "cock-a-doodle doo" sound that Old Rooster and Harold make! It is a fun book for the family! It has an interesting way of sharing the importance of Christmas. The illustrations are very bright and eye-catching also.

Dahlia Bookworm's Thoughts: I liked how the Old Rooster taught Harold how to crow. (Dahlia couldn't think of anything else to say today.)

Daisy Bookworm's Thoughts: I like when the baby looked directly at Harold and Harold thought he could crow loud enough then, and he crowed loud enough the next day. I also like the pictures in the book. It is a book I could read by myself, but I like how Mommy reads it too.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Christmas Children's Book for Christians, August 28, 2010

By 

M. A. Edema (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cock-A-Doodle Christmas! (Hardcover)

This is a great book! It is very Christian based, so if that is offensive to you, or just not your thing, it's not for you. However, I am always looking for children's Christmas books that focus on what I believe Christmas is all about. This book does that very well:

Harold is brand new on the job as a crowing rooster in Bethlehem. But it isn't going so well. He isn't able to crow loud enough to wake the animals up. When they do wake up, they are very upset because they weren't able to get their jobs done- and there are lots of great animal noises in the text for the reader to make! One day, a couple comes to stay in Harold's stable, and a baby is soon born. There is so much excitement over the baby that Harold is curious. He hears a shepherd exclaim "Good news! We have hope for a new day! The Prince of Peace has come!" and he gets closer to see this new Prince. When Harold sees the baby, he understands that "this day and every day were going to be different." His excitement and hope gives him a new boldness and he loudly crows "Cock-a-doodle-doo! Good news for you!" and all the animals wake up. His crow echoes loudly throughout the land and even now, "roosters everywhere call out the new day for all to hear and for all to know 'Good News for you!'"

There is so much here- it's a fun read, especially for young children who love anything with animal onomatopoeia, it has bright, colorful illustrations, and it offers a great opportunity to talk to children about why everything is different because of Christ, that we have hope because of him.