Rosa Farm

by Liz Wu, Matt Phelan (Illustrator)

Gallileon, a young rooster, has to crow to the sun on Sunday morning when his father is sent to compete at the county fair. After a few starts and stops, Gallileon manages to wake up the sun and the rest of the farm, but when the geese decide to play a mean trick on him, the sun disappears at high noon. Where did it go? Can Gallileon's irrepressible little sister Pepina save her brother from the ultimate humiliation?

Sumptuously illustrated with line drawings by Matt Phelan, this refreshingly literary debut by Elizabeth Wu is perfect for young middle grade readers.


From the Hardcover edition.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Cheryl]

Impulse request at the library (saw in catalog while requesting something else).

Much to like about it, for example the character development of the two main chicks, and of one of the ducks who realizes that being a sidekick to a bully is a bad thing. And for example the more realistic treatment of the bully; instead of converting him to a good guy, the animals all found a way to have their own kind of community without him.

Much to dislike about it. Too much emphasis on physical appearance, esp. how said appearance indicates personality traits. Too much bullying for a book that is supposed to be a joyful read and that is for such a young audience.

I'd say the good outweighed the not-so-good, but it still didn't wow me.

A quick read, one of the first kids who are starting to outgrow the Magic Treehouse books will be ready for. Because the characters are animals, there's no age level to assign to them or to the readers based on that metric, but I would say that even poor readers will have outgrown this by age 10 or 11, and good readers are probably ready for the themes by 7.

[Felix]

i loved it!

[Charlyn]

Without practice or guidance, Gallileon is left to crow to herald the sun when his father is taken to the county fair. With father out of the way and his sister Pepina left for him to watch for the day, he becomes the target for the farm bully, Prattle, the goose. When Gallileon becomes the object of Prattle's mean spirit and Pepina is chicknapped by Prattle, it up to Eli, the cat, to help Gallileon become a better observer of what's really going on at the farm.
A gentle story about life on the farm, this book would be great fro grades 3 - 5.

[Clowreadsandrambles]

I change my mind I rate it a 4 since this story about teamwork and believing in oneself which is a must lesson to know for kids.

A short, simple and an approachable story about barn animals that you can read in a day or two.

[CuriousLibrarian]

A sweet book. Would be a 3.5 if I could.

Recommended. Grades 2-4.