LITTLE PEEP

by Jack Kent ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 1981

How Little Peep--inadvertently--dethrones the barnyard cock. But whatever the child-appeal of the outcome, the plot turns too much on contrivance (and on too many contrivances) to make the tale satisfying for very young listeners. In brief, then, Little Peep, impressed with the deference shown to sassy cock because when he ""crows the sun comes up"" (""And if he didn't it wouldn't""), decides to try some crowing himself; instead, he sets off a different sort of clatter (via water pump, tin cup, bucket, and barking dog) that wakes the farmer . . . who turns on the barnyard floodlight, making the animals think the sun has come up. Then, when the grumpy farmer turns the floodlight off (and the other animals go back to sleep), Little Peep and the cock go on arguing . . . while the sun comes up unbidden, exposing the cock's (and Little Peep's) pretensions, to the amusement of all the once-awed others. The sounds they make in derision--and their snottiness, now--are the best part of the book. For those, that is, who've stuck around to see how it all comes out.

Pub Date: May 4, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Prentice-Hall

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1981

Categories: CHILDREN'S