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Cock-A-Doodle-Doo
A little red rooster is raised by a family of ducks but sets off to find his others like him, and after many encounters with different birds and animals finally succeeds in finding a home of his own.
36 pages, Library Binding
First published June 1, 1939
About the author
Berta Hader
81 books4 followersBerta and Elmer Hader were an American couple who jointly illustrated more than 70 children's books, about half of which they also wrote. They won the annual Caldecott Medal for The Big Snow (1948), recognizing the year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". They received the Caldecott Honor Book Award for Cock-a-doodle-doo in 1940 and The Mighty Hunter in 1944.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 19, 2018
Written at the end of the Great depression. They did use color on every other page. That art work was very beautiful.
A red hen grows up with ducks. He feels like an outcast and longs for people like himself. He hears a rooster crowing and knows that is where he belongs. He must go through the dangerous forest. He is smart and he makes the heroic journey where he finally makes it to the farm of chickens. It's a greek tale of the hero's quest, or finding your place in the world.
The kids thought this was ok. It didn't excite them and they didn't hate itr
A red hen grows up with ducks. He feels like an outcast and longs for people like himself. He hears a rooster crowing and knows that is where he belongs. He must go through the dangerous forest. He is smart and he makes the heroic journey where he finally makes it to the farm of chickens. It's a greek tale of the hero's quest, or finding your place in the world.
The kids thought this was ok. It didn't excite them and they didn't hate itr
September 29, 2019
When a little red chick hatches from an egg in a duck's nest, his mother and siblings don't know just what to make of him. Soon aware of how different he is - he peeps when the duckling quack; he must stay on land, when the ducklings take off swimming - Little Red eventually hears a strange call in the distance, a "cock-a-doodle-doo" that speaks to him. Setting out to find the source of this call, he experiences many dangers in the meadow and forest, eventually finding his way to a farm, and a community of his fellows.
Chosen as a Newbery Honor Book in 1940 - the medal winner that year was Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire's Abraham Lincoln - this story of a chick out of his element has definite shades of The Ugly Duckling to it. It's nowhere near as engaging as Andersen's classic tale, but it has modest charm as an animal story I think, and will appeal to younger children who appreciate such fare. The artwork, which alternates between black and white and full color, has a sweet vintage charm. I'm not sure, all told, that I can see Cock-A-Doodle-Doo being chosen as an award winner today - there's nothing that really stands out to me, in either text or image - but it does have a quiet appeal, especially for fans of vintage picture-book art.
Chosen as a Newbery Honor Book in 1940 - the medal winner that year was Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire's Abraham Lincoln - this story of a chick out of his element has definite shades of The Ugly Duckling to it. It's nowhere near as engaging as Andersen's classic tale, but it has modest charm as an animal story I think, and will appeal to younger children who appreciate such fare. The artwork, which alternates between black and white and full color, has a sweet vintage charm. I'm not sure, all told, that I can see Cock-A-Doodle-Doo being chosen as an award winner today - there's nothing that really stands out to me, in either text or image - but it does have a quiet appeal, especially for fans of vintage picture-book art.
April 18, 2022
Little Red somehow hatches with the ducklings down by the pond. When he hears a chicken call from the farm across the meadow, he sets out to find his brood and meets with adventure along the way.
Told more from nature’s point of view than human’s - which I appreciated.
Realistic illustrations from the Hader duo make this an engaging read for little ones!
Ages: 3 - 10
Told more from nature’s point of view than human’s - which I appreciated.
Realistic illustrations from the Hader duo make this an engaging read for little ones!
Ages: 3 - 10
June 9, 2013
1940 Caldecott honor
great illustrations and it would still work well with today's kids
great illustrations and it would still work well with today's kids
December 22, 2017
Cock-a-doodle-whoop-dee-doo.
This is one of those like super old books (1939) that just tells this meandering story with incredibly detailed pictures, alternating between black and white and full color. It just goes on and on.
So there's a farm by a pond. On the farm, there's a bunch of ducks. A chicken egg gets among the ducks and hatches at the same time. The farmer even recognizes this and goes, "Oh well, he will get along all right with the ducks." He just doesn't care. Clearly he doesn't know that the ducks and chicks and other animals are apparently mildly sentient in this universe.
Chickens can't swim. This poor chick is just miserable. He hears a rooster crowing from a farm on the other side of the hill, so he wants to go to the farm. He can't get there by flying so he wanders through a meadow and a forest. Various predators try to eat him and he gets away, warning their prey away as well by cheeping. Somehow he manages not to get caught, and finally makes it to the farm on the other side of the hill where there's a bunch of random animals like turkeys and geese and other chickens. A hawk comes and he runs into the chicken house successfully and goes, "Yeah, I'm gonna be happy here. Because there's chickens." And he gets food that's actually intended for chickens. And then he turns into a big red rooster.
Whoop-dee-doo. It's just an extended biography of a chicken with exactly one incident in his life of any interest at all. Really, the farmer that owned him should have thought, "I bet this egg came from that farm on top of the hill," because seriously, ducks don't lay chicken eggs. Doesn't happen. Instead, he's just oblivious to the origin of the chicken egg. If he bought it, how was he (or the seller) unable to tell the difference between duck eggs and chicken eggs? After the chick was born, he should have said, "I don't do chickens. Maybe I should give it to my neighbor in the farm on top of the hill who has chickens. I know, because I can hear them crowing all the freaking time."
Basically, the farmer/owner was a lazy jerk and the chick suffered for it. But then he turned into a rooster and I guess everything's okay again. The story just meanders. It doesn't go anywhere. It's not terribly interesting. At least there's some conflict in there for a slight bit of interest, but there's no point to it.
Message: The world is dangerous for baby chicks.
For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.
This is one of those like super old books (1939) that just tells this meandering story with incredibly detailed pictures, alternating between black and white and full color. It just goes on and on.
So there's a farm by a pond. On the farm, there's a bunch of ducks. A chicken egg gets among the ducks and hatches at the same time. The farmer even recognizes this and goes, "Oh well, he will get along all right with the ducks." He just doesn't care. Clearly he doesn't know that the ducks and chicks and other animals are apparently mildly sentient in this universe.
Chickens can't swim. This poor chick is just miserable. He hears a rooster crowing from a farm on the other side of the hill, so he wants to go to the farm. He can't get there by flying so he wanders through a meadow and a forest. Various predators try to eat him and he gets away, warning their prey away as well by cheeping. Somehow he manages not to get caught, and finally makes it to the farm on the other side of the hill where there's a bunch of random animals like turkeys and geese and other chickens. A hawk comes and he runs into the chicken house successfully and goes, "Yeah, I'm gonna be happy here. Because there's chickens." And he gets food that's actually intended for chickens. And then he turns into a big red rooster.
Whoop-dee-doo. It's just an extended biography of a chicken with exactly one incident in his life of any interest at all. Really, the farmer that owned him should have thought, "I bet this egg came from that farm on top of the hill," because seriously, ducks don't lay chicken eggs. Doesn't happen. Instead, he's just oblivious to the origin of the chicken egg. If he bought it, how was he (or the seller) unable to tell the difference between duck eggs and chicken eggs? After the chick was born, he should have said, "I don't do chickens. Maybe I should give it to my neighbor in the farm on top of the hill who has chickens. I know, because I can hear them crowing all the freaking time."
Basically, the farmer/owner was a lazy jerk and the chick suffered for it. But then he turned into a rooster and I guess everything's okay again. The story just meanders. It doesn't go anywhere. It's not terribly interesting. At least there's some conflict in there for a slight bit of interest, but there's no point to it.
Message: The world is dangerous for baby chicks.
For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.
September 19, 2014
This story is also a very old story and its writer won the caldecott in 1940.
The story is talking about a little red rooster born in an wrong family. When he walks out from the shell, he finds out he was born in a duck family. That is why his look is totally different from the other ducks. But the old mother duck still protects him very well. When he sees this situation and sees the old duck mother’s deflection, the farmer thinks that the little red will be fine with the other ducks. But, a few days later the old duck mother takes the baby ducks swimming in the pond, the little red also tries to swim like them. Unfortunately, the poor little duck founds out he can’t swim like his sisters and brothers. In the next few days, he realizes that he is totally different from other ducks. So, he decides to go the wood and look for his own family. In the wood, he has experienced a lot of dangerous and adventurous things. Fortunately, every time he passes through them. During his last adventure, he comes across a hawk which is trying to grab him. He runs away very fast into a chicken house. There he meets a lot of chickens there. He finally finds his own group. He knows that he will be happy there with his own family.
What attracts me most is the painting in this story. The pictures inserted in this story do not like those in nowadays picture books. But the paintings are very excellent and wonderful. Pigments are used in the whole book for the pictures. The background pictures are green, which. associates life, nature and vigor. All the things in this picture book are well painted. In addition, the painter uses a lot of shapes and shadows in the pictures. Animals and background plants look so vivid under the suitable background of the story.
Every page is divided into two parts. One is full of pictures and another one is covered by letters. Basically, the pictures are on the top position and the graphic illustration is on the bottom. The shining point is that the writer describes the sounds of different animal very well. Also, two different personal pronouns are used to narrate the story. The first personal pronoun is used in the conversation and the third personal pronoun is used for narration. The language is so simple and help story narrator explain story background so well. This is a really good book for children.
The story is talking about a little red rooster born in an wrong family. When he walks out from the shell, he finds out he was born in a duck family. That is why his look is totally different from the other ducks. But the old mother duck still protects him very well. When he sees this situation and sees the old duck mother’s deflection, the farmer thinks that the little red will be fine with the other ducks. But, a few days later the old duck mother takes the baby ducks swimming in the pond, the little red also tries to swim like them. Unfortunately, the poor little duck founds out he can’t swim like his sisters and brothers. In the next few days, he realizes that he is totally different from other ducks. So, he decides to go the wood and look for his own family. In the wood, he has experienced a lot of dangerous and adventurous things. Fortunately, every time he passes through them. During his last adventure, he comes across a hawk which is trying to grab him. He runs away very fast into a chicken house. There he meets a lot of chickens there. He finally finds his own group. He knows that he will be happy there with his own family.
What attracts me most is the painting in this story. The pictures inserted in this story do not like those in nowadays picture books. But the paintings are very excellent and wonderful. Pigments are used in the whole book for the pictures. The background pictures are green, which. associates life, nature and vigor. All the things in this picture book are well painted. In addition, the painter uses a lot of shapes and shadows in the pictures. Animals and background plants look so vivid under the suitable background of the story.
Every page is divided into two parts. One is full of pictures and another one is covered by letters. Basically, the pictures are on the top position and the graphic illustration is on the bottom. The shining point is that the writer describes the sounds of different animal very well. Also, two different personal pronouns are used to narrate the story. The first personal pronoun is used in the conversation and the third personal pronoun is used for narration. The language is so simple and help story narrator explain story background so well. This is a really good book for children.
October 24, 2012
The version I read didn't look like this, but it didn't have a cover either, just a drawing of the chick with the title. It was a cute story about a chick who is brought up on a duck farm, and is lonely because he can't swim like the other ducks. One day he hears another rooster, and set out on a journey across a forest to the other farm on the hill to find it. Eventually he finds the barn with the other chicks and is finally at home. As several reviewers have said, it is like a version of "The Ugly Duckling" story. It features painted and black & white illustrations. The book won a 1940 Caldecott Honor and although I have enjoyed other Berta and Elmer Hader books, this one was not one of my favorites. Recommended for ages 3-7, 2 stars.
January 16, 2018
• 1940 Caldecott Honor Book •
This is ok. It’s a story about a baby chick that somehow hatched among a bunch of baby ducks. Several times it’s pointed out that the chick is red, but he’s yellow with a little orange in the illustrations. The illustrations of the animals are fairly realistic and not cartoony, which is nice, except the last picture is of the rooster which, let’s face it, are kind of ugly and mean looking - not really the last image I want to be left with. Also, the last page suddenly breaks out into rhyme which threw me off.
Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted
This is ok. It’s a story about a baby chick that somehow hatched among a bunch of baby ducks. Several times it’s pointed out that the chick is red, but he’s yellow with a little orange in the illustrations. The illustrations of the animals are fairly realistic and not cartoony, which is nice, except the last picture is of the rooster which, let’s face it, are kind of ugly and mean looking - not really the last image I want to be left with. Also, the last page suddenly breaks out into rhyme which threw me off.
Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted
December 15, 2014
I guess I should give my 9 year old niece more credit. Or maybe give more credit to these really old Caldecotts? (I think most of them are pretty lame!) She read this whole book to herself while we were in the car. I was somewhat surprised by that - I don't think she would have done so had the book not interested her - quite a bit actually. The first time I asked her how many stars we should give it, she said 3. Later, forgetting that I asked her, I asked her again and that time she said 4. So, I'm gonna go with her initial rating.
February 9, 2013
I have to agree with some of the other reviewers that say this is a bit ordinary with Little Red the chick finding his way through ducks, geese and a few predators to his fellow roosters and chickens on a farm. The most compelling moment of the story is when the chick hears the "cock-a-doodle-doo" of the far-off rooster, setting his internal compass on a magnetic north of sorts to find his way home.
October 4, 2017
I like the black and white illustrations in this book better than the ones with color. I wasn’t especially impressed by the story, especially because of its strange unsatisfying ending, but I did appreciate the realism in the images of the different animals. I think a retelling of The Ugly Duckling where the baby turns out to be a rooster is a great idea, but this book doesn’t quite pull it off.
January 10, 2012
1940 Caldecott Honor
Much more cheerful than the Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Especially with regard to duckling/chick antics. This one has a much happier solution that I appreciated. Cute.
Favorite line: He was FREE and he was not afraid.
Much more cheerful than the Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Especially with regard to duckling/chick antics. This one has a much happier solution that I appreciated. Cute.
Favorite line: He was FREE and he was not afraid.
January 14, 2012
Unlike many of the early Medal and Honor winners, this one truly feels like a children's book - one that parents would have read out loud again and again. Just an ordinary little story of a young chick's adventure.
August 12, 2016
Boy, picture books were a lot more text-heavy back in the day! The story was okay, the illustrations were okay. Not bad, just, sorta, meh. And I didn't feel like the story resolved itself very well. Yes, he found the other chickens, but were they his family? Were they happy to see him at all?
January 8, 2012
1940 Caldecott honor. Color and B&W illustrations. Story of a little chick finding his way back home. I really enjoyed the color illustrations, the movement and perspective. But the story seemed a bit ordinary.
April 18, 2016
This is the story of a baby chick who is raised with ducks and feels misplaced. He eventually finds other chickens and grows up to be a strong rooster, but not before many threats to his safety.The story is okay and the illustrations are nice.
May 19, 2011
Dangers of being a small chick.
Caldecott honor.
Caldecott honor.
September 4, 2012
See my review at www.littlebooksontheprairie.wordpress...!
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January 5, 2018Cute story, anthropomorphic while doing a good job of being realistic as well.
August 1, 2022
Kids didn't like this story as much as "The Big Snow" but we keep poultry and liked the illustrations.
July 8, 2024
A young chick starts being raised by ducks until he finds his way home. Illustrations are basic but the story is cute.
January 25, 2025
Another Caldecott Honor winner from 1940. The illustrations were quite beautiful in this one.
September 30, 2025
Beautiful illustrations.
February 3, 2012
1940 Caldecott Honor
Favorite illustration: p. 16-17 When the chick warns to mouse in the forest of the circling owl
Favorite line: "Peep, peep!" cried the Little Red happily. That was a call he could understand, and he ran after the hens.
Kid-appeal: It has a nice storybook quality that some of the other books from the era (like 1940's Medal book, Abraham Lincoln) seem to lack. Not spectacular, but comforting and somewhat familiar to me. Maybe on Grandma's bookshelf as a kid??
Favorite illustration: p. 16-17 When the chick warns to mouse in the forest of the circling owl
Favorite line: "Peep, peep!" cried the Little Red happily. That was a call he could understand, and he ran after the hens.
Kid-appeal: It has a nice storybook quality that some of the other books from the era (like 1940's Medal book, Abraham Lincoln) seem to lack. Not spectacular, but comforting and somewhat familiar to me. Maybe on Grandma's bookshelf as a kid??
October 7, 2023
This was a cute story about a little red chick who is trying to figure out where he belongs. It is not with ducklings in a pond, and it is not in the woods where there are dangerous animals who want to eat him. He finally finds a farm. I like the illustrations of the animals.
February 17, 2015
The animals are so expressive!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews