A rooster heralds the beginning and end of the day in this imaginative
and beautifully illustrated bilingual poem.
The song of the rooster draws forth the universe and gives way to the
dance of beings and objects as day draws its first brilliant breath.
This book is so supremely simple that a baby can delight in it, and yet
so complex that an adult reader can find joy in the poem and beautiful
images over and over again.
Jorge Lujan dreamed this myth and, when he wrote it, understood that the
rooster is the poet of the day. Manuel Monroy dipped his pen in the ink
of the night and, when he withdrew it, found it was spangled with stars.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language
Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.2
With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key
details.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between
illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a
story an illustration depicts).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of
their central message or lesson.