Rooster Summer

by Robert Heidbreder, Madeline Kloepper (Illustrator)

Spend a rooster summer on the farm with these irresistible read-aloud poems. For the brother and sister in this novel in verse, each day begins with a barnyard wakeup call. During a summer spent on their grandparents’ farm, they collect eggs from the chicken coop, put on shows for city folks in passing trains, fill in for the farm dog by barking the cows home and dance around the perfectly ripening watermelon growing in Grandma’s garden. All of these barnyard adventures happen in the company of Rexter the rooster, Seed-Sack the mule and Ginger-Tea the farm dog ― animal friends that will steal readers’ hearts over the course of a carefree rooster summer. Based on award-winning poet Robert Heidbreder’s childhood, these irresistible read-aloud poems show the tender relationship between children and their grandparents. Madeline Kloepper brings the cast of lovable human and animal characters to life with her vintage art style. This early novel in verse about the simple joys of childhood on a farm is nostalgic yet timeless. Key Text Features
poems
illustrations
headings
table of contents Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

Genres: Poetry, Middle Grade, Novel In Verse

64 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2018

Reviews

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading anything by Robert Heidbreder fills my life with sunshine. His language is all hippity hoppity bibity bopity. It fills your body with rhythm and makes you want to dance. This poetry memoir tells us of his summer holidays with his grandparents on their farm. It's full of magic - the kind that can only be experienced by children in a place full of wonderful animals and doting adults. There is Rexter, the talking rooster; Seed-Sack, the mule who thinks he's a horse; Ginger Tea, the dog, and Tuftin, the cat. Some of Robert's descriptions, like this one here, "inside is a bundle of purrs" made me want to swoon. Rooster Summer is a book that will make you nostalgic for a time and summer the likes of which you might never have experienced.
Madeline Kloepper's vintage style art is the perfect accompaniment to the poems in the book.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a delicate memory of a wonderful summer spent on their grandparents' farm by a brother and a sister. The text is supplemented with illustrations created with inks, gouache, graphite, and the use of digital techniques. The youngsters are engaged in the typical farm activities, collecting eggs, rounding up the cows, checking on the progress of the juicy watermelons growing in the garden, and relishing the freedom that exists in country living. The book is filled with anecdotes describing their adventures with the farm animals, Rexter, a rooster, Seed-Sack, a mule, and Ginger-Tea, the family dog. The stories here are clearly precious memories from times that have long receded into the mists of time but are not forgotten by the author. There is a poignancy about each story even when the children are making mistakes that might get them into trouble, and readers might be smiling while also feeling a lump in their throats. By the time the book ended, I felt as though I knew these two characters, their grandparents, and the farm animals quite well. As I finished the book, I found myself wondering if life contains these simple pleasures still or if those moments and that kind of summer are not longer possible because of the way things have changed and how deeply dependent most of us now seem on our technological devices.

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful story of a summer spent on Grandma & Grandpa's farm told in poems. Gathering eggs, riding the pet mule, playing with the family rooster, trying to befriend the barn cats, swimming in the creek, summer thunderstorms, growing watermelon, summer evenings spent stargazing, exploring the attic, rope-swinging in the hayloft & much more. Everything a kid could want in a summer vacation. And then the sad last night, the good-bye hay ride around the farm, mom & dad's arrival to take them home, & having to write the inevitable "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" paper for school. Those essays are included as well as a note on how the farm is no longer there, but the memories survive. Such a wonderful nostalgic book that brings back memories of my own summer vacations, time spent at my grandparents', & the things I loved to do.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young brother and sister spend the summer at their grandparents’ farm with Rexter the Rooster (“roo-da-doodling at our sides”), Seed-Sack (the mule with a “slow swaying back”), Tuftin (a “spiky-haired … girl cat”), and Ginger-Tea, the new dog and defender of the chicken coop (with her “tawny, spicy-looking” coat). Poems, accompanied by vignettes and full-page illustrations in sepia tones, celebrate day-to-day adventures: gathering eggs from the coop and bringing them back to the farmhouse with Seed-Sack, swinging on a rope from the hayloft, taking a hayride under the stars, and getting a surprise at the end of the summer. An endnote describes the origin of this story in verse, which is based on Robert Heidbreder’s childhood memories.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so evocative of my own memories of summers on the farm. The wordplay is fun and great for manga addicts exploring the world of poetry. Just like Japanese manga, this book is filled with onomatopoeia.

[ChiChi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet rhyming poetry book about a summer spent at the farm with Grandparents and assorted farmyard animals. The illustrations by Prince George resident Madeline Kloepper were spendiferous! Especially loved Rexter the Rooster and his beautiful tail feathers.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very lovely book to read out loud with city folk kids in the dead of winter. Doesn’t shy away from real life themes, like loss and change.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this when I was operating the elevators at work. fun quick summer read

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

“People, places come and go.
But stories, planted, sprout and grow.”

[Jaslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"People, places come and go. / But stories, planted, sprout and grow."

A really delightful romp through alliteration, assonance, and rhyme :)

[Jenn Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

completely delighted by this.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet 20 minute read, written in verse. I wish it had more of a story arc, versus a collection of moments.