Allen & Unwin
August 2026
RRP: $19.99
ISBN:9781761181603
Publisher:A&U Children’s
Imprint:Albert Street Books
This past week I’ve rewatched the Shrek movies and realised again just how fun they are with loads of intercontextuality for adults as well as the plentiful humour for kiddos. And this terrific book echoes that premise exactly. In fact, I’d liken Rocky the rooster to an Eddie Murphy chanticleer.
From start to finish this brash and, dare I say, cocky rooster is so full of himself that he cannot conceive of flubbing his signature line – but there you go. Kiddos will laugh uproariously and eagerly shout out the malapropisms that are coming out of Rocky’s beak while he, and his overweening vanity, struggle to get it right.
Along with the riotously funny text, Shiloh Gordon’s wonderful cartoonish illustrations just lift this one into a riot of fun and colour that kids will want to hear and read for themselves over and over again.
No doubt about this one, it’s a fully-fledged, strutting 5 🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓 rating for kiddos from toddlers upwards.
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