cover image I Had a Rooster: A Traditional Folk Song [With]

I Had a Rooster: A Traditional Folk Song [With]

Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Pete Seeger. Viking Books, $17.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-670-03521-2

Laura Vaccaro Seeger carries on the family tradition with I Had a Rooster: A Traditional Folk Song. Based on a concept by Ruth Crawford Seeger (stepmother of Pete), this song in book form introduces new creatures on successively smaller pages, while cumulative lines from previously printed verses show through below. The melody line is included; Vaccaro Seeger's (wife of Pete Seeger's nephew, Chris) finely tuned oils illustrate the text. A foreword by Pete Seeger provides a history as well as crafty sketches he once used in classrooms while performing the song to children; he sings the title song on a CD packaged in the back, which also includes two songs by siblings Mike and Peggy. (Oct.)