Cock-a-doodle-doo, Creak, Pop-pop, Moo

by Jim Aylesworth, Brad Sneed (Illustrator)

Breakfast ham pop-pops, cows moo as they're being milked, girls feed clucking hens, and boys split wood--whack! When chores are done, rockers squeak, and kids read and play games while Grandma's knitting needles click and the clock ticks. Jim Aylesworth uses rhythms that are reminiscent of reel music, rhyme, and onomatopoeia to write about a day in the life of a farm family. To illustrate this joyful text, Brad Sneed draws inspiration from the American regionalism art movement and creates figures that are earthy, yet elegant and heroic. This book is a celebration of work, play, family, food and farm life!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Poetry

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Jim Aylesworth was born in Jacksonville, Florida but as an infant moved from the state. He lived in many places during his childhood: Alabama, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas... but by the time Aylesworth was 15 his family had settled in Hinsdale, Illinois and that is where he graduated from high school in 1961.

In 1965, he graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a B.A. in English. He returned to Hinsdale and began a career as a stockbroker. By 1970, however, Aylesworth was thinking about what he really wanted to do. After a series of assignments as a substitute teacher, Aylesworth ended up in a primary classroom. He began teaching first grade students in Oak Park, Illinois in 1971 and entered Concordia College in River Forest, Illinois, to earn a graduate degree in elementary education -- a goal he reached in 1978.

But it was his work with children that brought him the most reward. It was Aylesworth's experiences as a teacher that eventually led him to writing children's books.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about sounds from the farm. The rhymes and various sounds gave Neo a chuckle. Great way to start the day!

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

From dawn to dusk, it's never quiet on this busy farm. Rhyming fun with beautiful illustrations by Brad Sneed.

[Natalie Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book followed a family living on a farm and explained their daily activities through onomatopoeia and rhyming words. I liked this book because the illustrations were very detailed and it told a story without using the typical format. I would use this in the classroom as a read-aloud when talking about onomatopoeia with students and about rhyming words. I would also explain how this book can be considered poetry and how books can tell stories in different ways. In the classroom, I would have students help me identify all the sound words as well as the words they think rhyme. I may also have students come up with their own sound words as an extension activity to practice using these words.

[Tima · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rhyming words tell an entertaining story about life and sounds on the farm for a large family. It showcases their meals, their chores, their playing and their family life, as it follows them from waking up to going to sleep again that night. The illustrations are beautiful, comical, and larger than life. Each picture adds so much more to the story and will fascinate young readers. The old fashioned pictures of the mill wheel, water pump, and stove will give the children an idea of earlier life and prompt discussion about an earlier time. This book brought charm to every day farm life that my children loved. The story and pictures are geared toward ages 3-6, but adults will enjoy it as well. We will be keeping this book to enjoy and will definitely be looking for more by this author.

I received this book free of charge from Children's Literature in exchange for my honest review.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for onomatopoeia. There are tons of great sounds throughout the book.

I'm starting to wonder-- why are so many children's/ picture books set in like... prairie times? There are quite a few books I've read already that are set on a farm but not in modern times. Gender roles/ stereotypes are strongly reinforced and the situations are not very relatable. Even for my rural kids. Did my past librarian just buy a lot of these because they're set on farms? Or are there really an inordinate amount of books for children set in this time? Why did we pick this time to teach our children so much about?

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots on onomatopoeia and gender stereotypes in this story about a day on the farm. I was very surprised to see that it was published in 2012 because of both the content and the illustration style. Everything screamed 1812 or 1912, not 2012. If you have a kid that is really into farm animals or onomatopoeia sounds, they might enjoy this. Otherwise, it's an easy pass. I won't be using it in story time.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rhyming book about a day on a farm and all the chores that entails. Lots of animal noises, in addition to chore sounds. A good pick for farm-themed storytime, as it shows a lot of farm things that aren't often mentioned in children's stories (shoeing horses, plowing fields). Very educational. Might be too long for little ones, but easily shortened by skipping a few pages.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun rhyming story of the a day on a farm. Brad Sneed's illustrations are wonderful.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t really care too much for the story, but the illustrations are very pretty to look at (they use vibrant colors and the art style feels very cozy).

[Rachel Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrations kinda remind me of Napping House (kinda like a kids' version of Mad Comics illustrations).

Anyway, this one was alright. Bebe was entertained.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preschool and school-age
Rhyming; onomatopoeia

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the illustrations featuring a large, traditional, farm family.

[Tym · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sounds of an old farm, the art was good but the writing lacked a certain magic

[Melissa Berke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some background....
As a music teacher, I am always trying to find books that will help teach concepts in music while simultaneously supporting reading/language arts goals. This book has potential to work for younger students when teaching instrumental timbres. While the text is obviously meant for younger students, the rhythm of the book’s rhyming text provides advanced rhythmic patterns of 8th &16th note combinations that could be used for improvisation on Orff instruments or be a springboard for student compositions.

(2012, March 1). Booklist. http://www.booklistonline.com/Cock-a-...

Opening: Younger Students
Boys and girls, today I going to start by singing a song I am pretty sure most of you know. Please join in and sing with me if you know this song. [Teacher sings, "Old McDonald" with children, solicits ideas from children for different animals].

Great job. In that song the animals made different noises. Your teacher told me that you have learned a VERY LONG word that means "a word that represents the sound of something. Does anyone remember that word? [onomatopoeia]

Today I am going to read you a story about a farm. Jim Aylesworth, the author of this book, uses a lot of onomatopoeia or sound words. While I read, I want you to listen very carefully for these words because after we read the story the first time, you’re going to help me reread the story with different instruments.

Opening: Older Students
I am going to go back in history for you and sing a song from your early childhood. While I sing this song, I would like you to clap the rhythm of the words (NOTE: This is the same as syllabication). Teacher sings “Old McDonald” while students clap.

[Following singing teacher displays rhythm of the song]. Would you say the rhythm of this song is simple or difficult? [SIMPLE] Why? [IT IS SIMPLE BECAUSE IT ONLY CONTAINS 8TH NOTES AND QUARTER NOTES/RESTS].

As 4th graders, you have mastered rhythm patterns that contain not only quarter notes and 8th notes, but also 16th notes and 8th/16th combinations. I am really excited to share this book with you today. It is a book about a farm, but a more “rhythmically challenging” farm than Old McDonald’s. While I read, I want you to listen for 16th notes, 8th notes, and combinations of 8th/16th and 16th/8th notes.

[Jessica Henry]

Opening:
I would like to introduce another book about life on the farm to you today. Do you remember when we read the book called "Farm" by Elisha Cooper? What do your remember about the book? (Pause for student response.) (Go back and quickly look through the book, pointing out topics.) Do you remember how in that book, the author taught us what it is like to live on a farm all year long? This book is similar. This author, Jim Aylesworth, writes about what happens on this farm for just the day. While I read, I want you to listen and see if you can spot some similarities. Use your sticky notes that I have given you to write your ideas down. At the end of the story we will share together our ideas.

Opening Moves:
Ask children to make connections to a previously read text.
Draw attention to the setting.

Rationale:
Again, I chose this book because it would fit into my farm text set. I also liked that it connected with Elisha Copper's "Farm". "Cock-A-Doodle-Doo, Creak, Pop-Pop, Moo" tells about what a day on the farm might look like, while "Farm" tells the story of a year on a farm. It gives opportunity for a nice side by side comparison. The way the text is written could provide another small group lesson about rhyming words or creating poems.

Review:
(2012, May 1). School Library Journal. http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=2...

[Nathan Huber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far one of my most favorite picture books of all time (especially for a story time). It has a perfect theme (farms and farm animals). It comes in at a perfect length of 32 pages, and has Jim Aylesworth crafting descriptive, rhyming couplets that include onomatopoeia to great effect.

Where this book really shines for me is the art. Brad Sneed perfectly captures a turn of the century farm and chooses an art style to perfectly match the subject. Every scene is filled with color and motion. Sneed was obviously taking inspiration from the Regionalism movement and (maybe more specifically) Thomas Hart Benton. Like Benton, Sneed creates motion and visual interest by distorting shapes, elongating bodies, and playing with perspective in a way that calls attention to something important about the subject (the farmer's hands, the workhorse's hooves and scale, etc.).

The book comes together beautifully with the text and illustrations working together to tell a cohesive story of a day on the farm.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful farm scene of the early years! I love how Jim Aylesworth takes rhythmic words to show a day in the life of an early farming family. From the early morning crow of the rooster to the night call of the owl, we are whisked to a day full of animals, chores and family. As a family they milk the cows, feed the hens, hang the laundry, make dinner, shoe a mule, haul hay and more before they relax for the night.
I love the illustrations and how Brad Sneed gives character to the 6 lanky kids, Mom and Dad and Grandma. Tall and lanky, detailed right down to their shoelaces. Old butter-churns, irons and crocks adorn the farmhouse of yesteryear. When families worked together and played together and had a closeness that is captured in this picture book.
I loved this book, with 6 kids of my own and hobby farmers it spoke deeply to me of the bond between family and farm.


Thanks to Holiday House Book for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

[Emma Apple · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really fun to read. If the title doesn’t give it away, it is all about onomatopoeia and takes us through a day in the life of a very cheerful family who live on a farm. It’s a lot of fun to read, I love the way it opens with everyone waking up, and closes with everyone falling asleep. It shows a family working together on the farm to take care of the animals and do the jobs that need to be done. A great story of team work and a lot of fun to read together. As we were reading together, the 10-year-old was making the sound effects as I was reading each page and we were all laughing.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with onomatopoeia ["Breezes swish...Clang, clang, clang./ It's time to eat" (unpaged]and rhyming lines, this picture book takes a nostalgic look at life on a family farm. Amid all the hard work and animal noises, there is much fun and support among the family members. Whoever considers living in the country to be quiet needs to take a look at this book. The engaging text filled with all those sounds and the watercolor illustrations depicting lots of movement evoke a feeling of warmth and comfort that make this one fun to read aloud.

[Lorelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the rhythm of the text may be a little difficult for some readers to fall into, this is a great story for city-kids to learn about farm life. But better yet, the book is a great one for teaching word choice. The large pictures by Sneed do wonders for helping the story move along--even the animals have character!

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Come to the farm, it's onomatopoeia time!

Aylesworth shares sounds around the farm - from the beginning of the day to the end. Sneed's beautiful illustrations depict farm life in the mid-1900's. The mellow colors and merry narration makes me want to jump right into the book and spend a day at the farm.

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Ariel Cummins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at what life was like on an old-fashioned farm. Goes through a day-in-the-life, from early wake up to going to bed.

The art has a gentle, almost old-fashioned watercolor look to it. Lots of animals and machinery to look at.

Because of the many onomatopoeias and length, would make a great read-along, even for younger kids.

[Karen A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid entry into the Farm storytime and good bedtime books. Good rhymes, lots of onomatopoeia, and rhythm.

Love the Thomas Hart Benton inspired illustrations. My only gripe is that it so strongly tells about a way of life that is no longer a reality for most Americans. I wonder if kids will relate?? But it may not matter.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those children who have never experienced a farm, this book provides a glimpse into the sights and sounds of a busy barnyard day. Keep in mind, this is definitely a farm of the past - 1940s era clothing, furniture, kitchen appliances, etc... Cows still "moo" and roosters still "cock-a-doodle-doo," but oil lamps don't tend to light living rooms much anymore.

[Nolan Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A. This book is about a family that lives on a farm and their daily practices. The book uses a lot of rhythm and uses onomatopoeia words.

B. The theme of this book is farm families.

C. I would use this book to teach about using onomatopoeia words.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a day in the life of an old time farm. I enjoyed the rhythm and rhyming in the language. Brad Sneed's illustrations are both beautiful and fun at the same time. Together, the two of them capture the noisy busy life that once was.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was great for my mom to explain to my son how it was for her grandmother to grow up on a farm. This was a pretty old farm; by the time Mom was growing up, they had milking machines to help with the cows!

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced, noisy, book goes through a day on the farm in rhyme with great illustrations!

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining rhymes tell the story of a day on the farm. Great illustrations.

[Michelle Farella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice depiction of life on a farm