Big Brown Rooster is sick of chicken feed. So along with his friends--Turtle, Iguana, and Potbellied Pig--he sets out to make the most magnificent strawberry shortcake in the whole wide world. But there’s one problem: none of his friends knows how to cook! The team bravely forges ahead, and with Rooster’s help, they learn how to measure flour (not with a ruler) and how to beat an egg (not with a baseball bat). But can they keep Pig from gobbling up all the ingredients? Take an old family recipe, add four funny friends, and mix in some hilarious cooking confusion and you have a picture book treat for children of all ages!
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Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
"'Always chicken feed! Day after day--year after year--I'm sick of it!' squawked Big Brown Rooster."
In this deliciously imaginative book by sisters Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel, a hungry and fed-up rooster suddenly recalls his famous Great-Granny, a fabulous chef who penned a book of recipes for future generations. He hunts down her cookbook--The Joy of Cooking Alone by L.R. Hen.
Rooster carefully turned the pages. "So many recipes--and I thought she just baked bread! Look at the strawberry shortcake!... Yes sirree--just like Great-Granny, I'll be a cook! COOK-A-DOODLE-DO-O-O!"
Upon settling down with this remarkable tale, every child's natural curiosity for cooking will likewise come bursting forth. There is a great basic story here, with plenty of creative spins on The Little Red Hen. In this version, Rooster--rebuffed by Dog, Cat, and Goose just like his Granny was--finds companionship in the kitchen with Turtle, Iguana, and Potbellied Pig. As Turtle reads the recipe aloud, Iguana continuously confuses the instructions to great comedic effect, Amelia Bedelia-style. (He tries to cut butter with scissors and beat an egg with a baseball bat.) Pig, on the other hoof, asks over and over for a chance to taste the batter. ("Looks mighty dry in there," said Pig. "Perhaps I should taste it.") Stevens's sure, friendly illustrations evoke a tremendous amount of character and activity in lightning-fast time. Take, for example, the cooking hats all the creatures don when they get to the kitchen: Turtle sports a copper-bottomed soup pot on his head, Iguana wields a candy-striped oven mitt, and Pig is wearing a kitchen towel, tied kerchief-style. They're ready!
Scattered through the story are sidebars with cooking tips that offer information on the ingredients, measurements, and techniques mentioned in the text. (Even if kids don't want to read them, they're quite handy for adults answering questions while reading.) Kids will love this lively, slapstick story of teamwork in action, and no doubt will want to try making strawberry shortcake! Fortunately, the recipe for "Great-Granny's Magnificent Strawberry Shortcake" is in the back. (Ages 4 and older) --Jean Lenihan
From Publishers Weekly
Stevens (Tops and Bottoms) and her sister cook up a boisterous romp as four animal friends set out to bake a strawberry shortcake. Rooster, tired of pecking for chicken feed, remembers that his famous great-grandmother (the Little Red Hen) wrote a cookbook, and in it he finds the recipe. Turtle, Iguana and Pig volunteer to help. If left solely to the text, the rest of the comedy-cum-cookery lesson would be fairly predictable: Turtle, reading the recipe, announces they need flour and Iguana rushes outside to pick a petunia; asked to beat an egg, Iguana hoists a baseball bat. (Handsomely illustrated sidebars explain most of the directions in depth.) Rooster sets Iguana straight while Pig keeps wanting to taste everything in sight. The illustrations, however, are startling in their pop-off-the-page dimensionality. In her characteristic style, Stevens mixes media, seamlessly combining paints, photos and computer art to witty effect; readers will want to look very closely to determine what's from real life and what's from a palette. Wearing their silly chef's hats (an inverted saucepan, an oven mitt, a kitchen towel and an apron), the four animals create a whirlwind of activity on every spread. Presiding adults should note that the strawberry shortcake recipe at the end is not as foolproof as the story would imply, even with the information in the sidebars; kids, enthused by the kitchen frolics depicted here, will surely want to attempt it. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Look out Amelia Bedelia! Big Brown Rooster and friends are cooking strawberry shortcake and the misunderstandings abound! Literal interpretations and great illustrations make this an extremely entertaining picture book. Read the book, create the shortcake, and eat it! The recipe included in the text is fantastic.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Not only is this book highly enjoyable, it is also very educational. Teachers, and parents alike, will enjoy sharing this delightfully funny story with children everywhere!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Mahina
Format:Hardcover
The animal's expressions are SO animated that it is a visual DELIGHT as well as a fun read ! What a treat !
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This is a great book that has lots of depth. My three year old loves the repetition and the characterisation, without realizing he's learning concepts and facts about food and cooking. It's clearly their favorite book.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A wonderful, funny, very well illustrated book for children (and fun-loving adults). It is educational, but children won't notice that - they will just notice the hilarious characters, colorful illustrations and funny story.
What attracted me to the book initially were the educational sidebars that explaine, on a child's level, some of the concepts of cooking.
Certainly a book worth the small price.
What attracted me to the book initially were the educational sidebars that explaine, on a child's level, some of the concepts of cooking.
Certainly a book worth the small price.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a fantastic book!Such thought has gone into the illustrations even the paper it was drawn on was made by hand.
It is a modern update of the Little Red Hen theme, "won't anybody help me make bread", but this time, although Dog, Cat and Goose wont, Rooster gets Turtle, Iguana and Potbellied Pig.
Rooster is making a strawberry shortcake (out of great gran's recipe book "the joys of cooking alone") and the animals are a delight in the kitchen.
It is uproariously funny as Roosters assistants get everything wrong and Pig keeps wanting to eat it.
The book includes a recipe at the end for the cake they bake and on the side of the pages it has information and tips on cooking!
Hints on baking powder, measuring equipment, where butter comes from and so on and so forth.
Everything you need to bake a great cake, and what's more, explain to the kids just why you're helping them do what they're doing.
The illustrations are a luscious visual delight and the cake is worth salivitating over - this book is so clever that you'll be giggling with the kids as you read it.
Ages 2 up.
Kotori 2004
It is a modern update of the Little Red Hen theme, "won't anybody help me make bread", but this time, although Dog, Cat and Goose wont, Rooster gets Turtle, Iguana and Potbellied Pig.
Rooster is making a strawberry shortcake (out of great gran's recipe book "the joys of cooking alone") and the animals are a delight in the kitchen.
It is uproariously funny as Roosters assistants get everything wrong and Pig keeps wanting to eat it.
The book includes a recipe at the end for the cake they bake and on the side of the pages it has information and tips on cooking!
Hints on baking powder, measuring equipment, where butter comes from and so on and so forth.
Everything you need to bake a great cake, and what's more, explain to the kids just why you're helping them do what they're doing.
The illustrations are a luscious visual delight and the cake is worth salivitating over - this book is so clever that you'll be giggling with the kids as you read it.
Ages 2 up.
Kotori 2004
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Not only is the book very creative and a great attention getter!!! But if you make the Strawberry Shortcake recipe in the back of the book you will find it wonderful. My son enjoyed making the shortcake with his grandma on the 4th of July and all of us enjoyed eating it!!!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Don't read this book at bedtime. My 5 year old daughter laughed so much she wouldn't go to sleep. We had to read the book to her two times in a row.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
children's books
We love this book. Received it when my son was 6 years old. I love to read it to him and he giggles everytime. Read more
Published on December 31, 2010 by Elizabeth Queen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love It!
We (6, 8, 43) thought this book was really funny! It's such a great rewrite of Little Red Hen and had all of us in stitches! The informational sidebars were great, as well. Read more
Published on July 2, 2010 by Janet A. Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars
Super funny and educational
This book is hilarious. First time I read it to my 4 years old daughter, I laughed by behind off, so did she. Read more
Published on March 30, 2010 by Nina A. Frank
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun Story
Delightfully illustrated! The book uses a brown textured background for the splashy, rusty-red of the rooster. Read more
Published on March 23, 2010 by Virginia Allain
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Cute
Very cute book. I bought it for my one year old- it's way too advanced for her. But when she's about 4-5 yrs old, she'll love it. Read more
Published on April 3, 2008 by S. Wade
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book for a Reader's Theater
I made this book into a really fun Reader's Theater. The kids loved it and after it was performed we made strawberry shortcakes.
Published on January 17, 2008 by MDUB
5.0 out of 5 stars
Belly Laughter
Janet and Susan never fail bringing homour and laughter into our home. My children beg me to read this or one of their other books everyday. Read more
Published on January 16, 2008 by Sunshine Sullivan
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful book. We wish we had the hardback.
This book is FUN! It is a book I can enjoy reading just as much as my kids enjoy hearing it.
Published on August 5, 2007 by L
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great gift for pre-schoolers
As a school librarian I have used this book too many times to count. I regularly read it to my pre-school students along with introducing them to kitchen tools. Read more
Published on June 30, 2007 by K. Gillum
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic Must-Add to Your Permanent Collection
After my daughter checked this out from her school library over and over and over we bought it. It is beautifully written and illustrated, the strawberry short cake recipe is... Read more
Published on March 9, 2006 by Heidi Ho
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