Rock-a-Doodle-Do!

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!'