BREWSTER ROOSTER Berny Lucas Illustrated by Russ Willms Toronto, Kids Can Press, 1993. 30pp, cloth, $11.95 ISBN 1-55074-109-8. CIP Reviewed by Patricia L.M. Butler Volume 22 Number 2 1994 March/April One morning young Brewster Rooster discovers he can finally crow. He's thrilled . that he'll soon have the important job of waking the farmyard each day. So Brewster crows over and over, all day long, getting ready for his big debut. Even though the farmer eventually tells him to take a break at nightfall, Brewster keeps right on practising, even developing variations on the standard rooster call. After a sleepless night for the whole farm, the farmer threatens to put Brewster in the soup pot this frightens him so much he pretends to be a weather vane for the whole day. He decides he has to run away, but that night as he's leaving, a heavy rainstorm threatens to flood his beloved farm. Brewster's practising finally pays off and he wakes the farmer just in time to save all the animals from a flood. Russ Willms was nominated for the Governor General's award for his funny, whimsical paintings of Brewster and his long-suffering barnyard colleagues. The delightful detail and unique angles fully complement Lucas' warm text creating a story of persistence that will capture young readers and listeners, and highly amuse any adult readers. Pre-school to Grade 2 / Ages 3 to 7 Patricia L.M. Butler is freelance librarian living in Vancouver, British Columbia