COOK-A-DOODLE-DOO!

A cross between a picture book take-off of the story of the Little Red Hen and a cooking lesson on the making of strawberry shortcake. When Big Brown Rooster, great-grandson of the Little Red Hen, discovers a recipe for strawberry shortcake in her book, The Joy of Cooking Alone, he makes up his mind to be a cook. In a nod to the original tale, Dog, Cat, and Goose won’t help, but Turtle, Iguana, and Pig volunteer. Panels running down the outer margins of some pages offer further information on cooking; in the meantime, the antics surrounding the baking of the cake overtake the studied connections to Little Red Hen. Though entertaining, the story is not seamless in its many functions; it ends on a flat note with a splat of the shortcake on the floor and a pep talk about teamwork. The real humor is in the hilarious illustrations, where a sketchier-than-usual style gives the book a more hurried appearance. Stevens never misses an opportunity for expressiveness in her characters; her inclusion of funny details adds more silliness to the story, from the overturned copper-pot hat on Turtle to the T-rex measuring cup. (Picture book. 4-8)