A Kid of Their Own - Hardcover

Lambert, Megan Dowd

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1580898793 ISBN 13: 9781580898799

Publisher: Charlesbridge, 2020

Synopsis

In this fresh and funny follow-up to the Ezra Jack Keats Honor Book A Crow of His Own, rooster Clyde is forced to adjust to new roommates on the farm when Fran the goat and her kid, Rowdy, take up residence. Can Clyde handle having a new kid in town?

Rooster Clyde has just settled in and found his voice when everyone demands that he take his hard-earned crow down a notch so as to not disturb newcomer Rowdy. That doesn't sit well with Clyde. Neither does the fact that motherly goose Roberta seems to have taken the new animals' side. The farm community learning to deal with a young member of the group is the main story in text and is paired with a wordless story in illustrations that shows Farmer Jay and Farmer Kevin getting ready for their adopted child to arrive on the farm.

About this title

About the Author:

Megan Dowd Lambert is the author of A Crow of His Own, Real Sisters Pretend, and Reading Picture Books with Children. She is an instructor at the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons University, where she earned her master's degree. She writes about books and parenting for Horn Book Magazine, has served on a Caldecott Committee, and worked at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art for many years.

Jessica Lanan is the illustrator of Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story, The Story I'll Tell, and Good Fortune in a Wrapping Cloth. She attended Scripps College and has a BA in fine art. She lives with her husband and a three-legged cat in Colorado. www.jessicalanan.com

Review:

♦ In this companion book to A Crow of His Own (illustrated by David Hyde Costello, 2015), Clyde the rooster returns with his star wake-up crow.Regularly lapping up universal praise and adoration, Clyde is living a comfortable life on the farm until farmers Jay and Kevin introduce Fran the goat and her kid, Rowdy. Everyone is delighted to have a kid on the farm except for a jealous Clyde, who devises a plan to regain everyone's attention. The next morning he uses a megaphone to make an extra loud wake-up call, but the noise doesn't allow Rowdy the sleep he needs. His friend Roberta the goose asks him to tone it down, but he dials it up with amps and drums, crowing every time Rowdy tries to rest. Soon everyone is upset, and Clyde realizes he must do something to make up for his "foul behavior." Lambert depicts how hard the change brought about by a new young one in the family can be while also addressing inclusivity and celebrating everyone's unique voice. The charming watercolor illustrations include little hints that the two white, male farmers are preparing for another new arrival. As with the author's first book, the vocabulary sets this title apart from many others for this age group. Rarely using verbs like "said" or "asked," the text allows readers to discover "gushed," "huffed," and "gasped" alongside other crunchy vocabulary: "Resolve," "bereft," and "righteousness" are just a smattering.A sweet and unusual new-baby story with an uncommonly broadening vocabulary.
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

About this edition

• Publisher: Charlesbridge
• Publication date: 2020
• ISBN 10: 1580898793
• ISBN 13: 9781580898799
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Lanan Jessica