Little Peep

Little Peep
Jack Kent ~ Simon & Schuster, 1981

Yesterday, when I set out to give away a copy of Little Peep, I hadn't realized that I'd never reviewed it -- seeing as I've been making my way through reviewing every book of Jack Kent's under the sun. See, all you new readers should know I have a mild obsession with Mr. Kent and his awesomeness. A few years back I did a cover story on him for a local paper (he lived in San Antonio). I always buy every copy of any book of his I find. My son reads his comic, King Aroo. His books Just Only John, Mr. Meebles, and Dooly and the Snortsnoot are all on my top 20 list... if not more of his books! His stories are so fun to look at and his themes so kind of heart, to me, he is one of the great unsung heroes of 60s and 70s children's literature.

Little Peep is one of his later books (he died in '85) and tells the story of a little chick with a giant ego... Little Peep hatches into the barnyard and soon realizes that the cock rules the roost. He imagines himself just as powerful and when the other animals chastise him for his naive arrogance...

"You must never never never annoy the cock," said the horse.
"Never never never," they all said together.
"Why?" asked Little Peep.
"Because he might get huffy and refuse to crow," said the pig.
"When the cock crows, the sun comes up," said the goat.
"And it he didn't it wouldn't," said the horse.

Soooo, with this nugget of info, Little Peep decides he will wake up early and try his hand at making the sun rise. What happens next is a comedy of errors involving the farmer, a flood light, and the realization that one single entity doesn't make the sun rise or set. Simply put, the world doesn't revolve around a rooster. Brilliant.

Jack still has a few titles in print (There's No Such Thing as a Dragon is awesome), and though some of his earlier works can be a bit pricey if bought online, check with your local library. Lots of his books are still in circulation. He is definitely one chap worth seeking out!

Also by:
Jack Kent's Twelve Days of Christmas
I Was Walking Down the Road
The Grown-Up Day
The Fox and the Crow
The Biggest Shadow in the Zoo
The Animobile Book
Jack Kent's Book of Nursery Tales
Dooly and the Snortsnoot
Mr. Meebles
Cindy Lou and the Witch's Dog
Clotilda
The Blah
Jack Kent's Valentine Sticker Book
The Bremen-town Musicians
Round Robin
Just Only John
Fly Away Home
Fat Cat
Piggy Bank Gonzales
Socks for Supper
Simple Prince

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