The Golden Cockerel is a fairy tale because it talks abut magical creatures such as a bird who is charming and has an imaginative land setting. This is also a fairytale because it speaks of a wizard which is cindered to be a fairytale figure. I could use this book to describe what exactly makes up the definition of a fairytale. I could also use this as an introduction to having them check out a fairytale book to read and talk about why they believe it falls under this category. The media in this book is acrylic and ink. ( )

A boastful, combative man in his youth, Czar Dadon had many enemies - enemies who grew bolder as he grew weaker with age. Hoping to protect his kingdom from attack, the Czar sent for an old sorcerer, who gave him the Golden Cockerel - a magical bird which always warned of danger. But Czar Dadon forgot his promise to the sorcerer, and when danger arose from an unexpected quarter, he paid the price...

This fable about the dangers of boasting and refusing to honor one's word, was adapted from Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra by the celebrated Russian poet Alexandr Pushkin in 1834. Adaptated again by Patricia Tracy Lowe in this picture book, the tale is presented as a prose story, rather than in Pushkin's original verse. Highly readable, and enhanced by the lovely illustrations of Ivan Bilibin, The Tale of the Golden Cockerel will appeal to fairytale lovers everywhere. ( )