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Rock-a-Doodle-Do!

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BfK No. 124 - September 2000

Cover Story
This issue’s cover illustration by Fangorn is taken from Brian Jacques’ Lord Brocktree (Hutchinson, 0 09 176877 2, £12.99), the thirteenth title in the internationally best-selling Redwall series. Salamandastron, the ancestral home of the Badger Lords, is under threat from Ungatt Trunn, an enemy whose power would seem to be absolute and whose evil knows no bounds. The only hope for survival is the badger Lord Brocktree who is drawn to the fortress by an undeniable sense of destiny. Brian Jacques' masterful storytelling as always spins a web of high adventure that will enthral the reader from the first page to the last. Thanks to Hutchinson Children’s Books for their help in producing this September cover.

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Rock-a-Doodle-Do!

Michael Foreman
(Andersen Press Ltd)
32pp, 978-0862649517, RRP £9.99, Hardcover
Under 5s Pre-School/Nursery/Infant
Buy "Rock a Doodle Doo!" on Amazon

Rock-a Doodle-Do! is an excellent example of how endpapers and the preliminary pages may be used to full effect in a picture book. a bare, prairie landscape set against a large expanse of sky and occupied only by a barn sets the scene on the opening endpapers of Foreman's adaptation of the Grimms' 'The Musicians of Bremen'. The title page opening leads us into the tale as an old donkey crosses the skyline on his journey to the city to fulfil his dream of becoming a musician. His master wants to be rid of him and on his journey he meets a dog, a cat and a rooster, all near the end of their working lives. This retelling is highly visual and cinematic in technique and presentation. The action is set against the open spaces of an American landscape and the references to gangster movies while not overstated are marked. The robbers' clothes and shoes place them firmly in the domain of US mobsters and the closing scenes of the joint jumping at the old roadside cafe, converted to 'Rock n Roll' by the four friends, is quintessentially American. A stream of cars, buses and trucks sweeps across the final endpapers as the story closes to a 'Rock-a-doodle-do ... and do-wop, bam, BOOM!'

Reviewer: 
Valerie Coghlan
4
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