This book starts off as a fairy tale, beginning with, "Once upon a hill, ..." There are a bunch of chicks hatched, and the farmers say aloud, "I hope one of them has the gift." After hearing this, the chicks cannot stop trying to figure out what this means, and which one of them has it. One day one of them wakes up and does something different than the others, making him stand out. He is then believed to be the one that 'makes the day start.' As the story goes on, he realizes he does not really make the sun come up, but finds out that he is still very special in his own special way.
What a wonderful book! I read this book to children for my service learning project. They fell in love with it, and so did I!
This book could be read when the students are learning about farm animals. It gives valuable information about the life of a chicken/rooster. I could also, after reading this book aloud, have each student write a paper about what makes him or her special. What quality do they have, whether it be physical or mental, that makes them stand out? What gift do they have?