Rooster / Gallo

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.

Jorge Luján is an author, poet and musician who has published 42 books and 7 CDs. With many of the world’s greatest illustrators he has created an outstanding body of work, which includes Stephen and the Beetle, illustrated by Chiara Carrer, Doggy Slippers and Numeralia, illustrated by Isol, Colors! ¡Colores!, illustrated by Piet Grobler and Moví la mano / I Moved My Hand, illustrated by Mandana Sadat. Jorge has twice won the Premio de Poesía para Niños de ALIJA (IBBY Argentina) and has been nominated three times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Visit jorgelujan.net and listen to his songs on YouTube.

Manuel Monroy is one of Mexico’s most accomplished illustrators. He has won many awards, including the A la Orilla del Viento and the Noma Concours Encouragement prizes and a Gold World Medal for Art Direction at the New York Film Festival. His work has also been included on the IBBY Honour List and in the White Ravens Catalogue. Manuel has recently illustrated What Are You Doing? and Why Are You Doing That? by Elisa Amado, published in Canada and the US. He has exhibited his art in Mexico, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands.