Wake Up, Rupert!

by Mike Twohy, Mike Twohy (Illustrator)

Overview

A rooster who just wants to sleep in gets a little help from a friend in this laugh-out-loud picture book from New Yorker artist Mike Twohy.

Rupert the rooster knows that every morning when the sun comes up he must cock-a-doodle-do—no matter what. But Rupert is terrible at waking up! And even worse, he can never, ever sleep in. Life just isn’t fair. When his friend Sherman the Sheep volunteers for the job, everything is perfect. Or is it?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442459984
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	02/18/2014
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 11.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mike Twohy is a Geisel Honor Award–winning author and illustrator of several books for children, including Poindexter Makes a Friend, Outfoxed about which The Horn Book said, “story time audiences will howl with laughter,” Wake Up, Rupert!, and Mouse and Hippo, which the School Library Journal called “a story time hit.” He has been a longtime contributor of cartoons to The New Yorker. He lives with his wife, cats, and yellow Lab in Berkeley, California.

Mike Twohy is a Geisel Honor Award–winning author and illustrator of several books for children, including Poindexter Makes a Friend, Outfoxed about which The Horn Book said, “story time audiences will howl with laughter,” Wake Up, Rupert!, and Mouse and Hippo, which the School Library Journal called “a story time hit.” He has been a longtime contributor of cartoons to The New Yorker. He lives with his wife, cats, and yellow Lab in Berkeley, California.

Editorial Reviews

11/11/2013
Twohy (Outfoxed) starts with a simple barnyard premise—Rupert the rooster objects to having to wake up early every morning—and follows it to its catastrophic conclusion, firing up the pages with plenty of physical comedy. After Rupert’s friend Sherman the sheep offers to take on the waking-up duties, Rupert prepares for a luxurious late morning. Instead, the entire farm is awakened in the middle of the night by a mighty chorus of sheep, recruited by Sherman to augment his own feeble baaing. Chaos ensues as the farmer’s children droop like zombies at the bus stop, and “the cows walked right past the milking barn, clomped into the kitchen, and ate all the pancakes!” Extra laughs come from Twohy’s focus on his characters’ neuroses. Rupert whines, “I need a lot more rest than most roosters,” and, in a psychologically nuanced plot twist, Sherman wakes up early because he dreams that the sun is already up and he’s overslept. A predictable ending doesn’t detract from the energy of Twohy’s story, which will easily rouse restless readaloud listeners. Ages 4–8. Agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2014
PreS-Gr 2—Rupert the rooster is not an early bird. His friend, Sherman the sheep, offers to fill in for him and "cock-a-doodle-doo" in the morning. When Sherman awakes in the middle of the night and thinks it is the morning, he doesn't want to disappoint his pal. Fearing his call wasn't loud enough, he brings in a flock of sheep as reinforcements and the deafening blast of "BAAB-BAABA-BA-A-A" wakes up everyone on the farm. Soon, bleary-eyed children are waiting for the school bus in the dark, Farmer Tim is knocked over by animals who can't see him, and the cows wind up gobbling all the pancakes in the kitchen. Surveying the chaos, Rupert realizes that "Waking everybody up is a special job. And it's MY job." New Yorker artist Twohy's ink and felt pen cartoons show Rupert's comical antics, from setting six alarm clocks to bolting upright in bed with fuzzy slippers and a sleep cap tied over his ears. With superb pacing and laugh-out-loud illustrations, this book is something to crow about.—Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

School Library Journal

2013-11-13
Rupert the Rooster just wants to sleep in! Every morning, Rupert sets six alarm clocks and hides them around his room in the barn. That way, by the time he finds all six ringing clocks and turns them off, he will be awake enough to see the sun, crow and wake everyone on Farmer Tim's farm. Rupert just hates getting up early. When he complains to his best friend, Sherman the sheep, Sherman volunteers to do the crowing as long as Rupert teaches him how. After a lesson, Rupert goes to sleep with his slippers over his ears. Sherman sets the alarm clocks for himself…but he has a nightmare in which he doesn't get up in time. Waking in the middle of the night, he crows and then panics when he is not loud enough to rouse the others. He gets his entire family to bleat with him, and the farm wakes up early, with disastrous results. As Rupert watches the chaos, he vows to always do his own important job himself. Author and New Yorker cartoonist Twohy delivers a fine addition to the confused-farm-critter canon with this tale of lazy Rupert who learns a little rooster-ly responsibility. The cartoon watercolors enhance the silliness of the tale. Preschoolers will bleat for a repeat. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews