Night Owl and the Rooster: A Haitian Legend

Legends of the World

by Charles Reasoner

Retells a Haitian folktale in which Coucou the owl hides his face from the light of day because he believes himself to be ugly, and Rouge the rooster tries to trick him into leaving his true love Drina the swallow

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Charles Reasoner is a published author, illustrator, and a translator of children's books. Some of his published credits include 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Inside Santa's Toy Shop, Inside Jolly Roger's Pirate Ship, and Inside Old McDonald's Barn.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a wonderful old Haitian story about one hurtful remark changing another's life and love changing that perception. Those who say hurtful words should keep them and others leave them to their owners!

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting Haitian Legend I haven't ever heard from. The story was interesting but what I liked was at the end it explains the importatants of drums in the Haitian Culture.

The pictures look like water color, but as they are turned to a book form, there are some pixelation !

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coucou the owl feels good about himself until a very unkind hummingbird runs into him and convinces Coucou that he is the ugliest bird he has ever seen. This hurts Coucou so much that he stays away from every other bird and only goes out in the darkest part of the night--alone.

Eventually he meets a beautiful bird who has lost her way in the darkness. Since she cannot see his face in the dark, he flys her home. This starts a romance, but he still doesn't let her see his face.