I’m pleased to announce that my first new kids’ book is ready to go!
Following is a brief introduction and some thoughts around the story.
The Cocky Rooster is a tale about a self-absorbed rooster who eventually has a change of heart. Its underlying theme is loving, parental authority.
In my experience as a parent, it has been unusual to find storybooks that portray God-given authority in a favorable light. Most moms and dads that I know recognize that parental rules and authority exist primarily for the safety and protection of their children and those with whom their children interact. This is simply a fundamental, good, and necessary part of everyday parenting. Even so, the message that our children will so often hear from the world is that authority is a tool used to control people, that it can’t be trusted, and that people should instead “follow their hearts.” This is reflective of a secularist worldview.
But if the human heart is already naturally inclined to be rebellious and selfish, urging small children to follow their hearts reinforces exactly the wrong idea. We might as well urge them to eat dessert first and only eat their vegetables if they feel like it. There is, arguably, a place for following one’s heart, but for young children, I think a true picture of God-given authority is the message that needs to be reinforced, because that’s the message that will otherwise go unheard.
I believe that, of course, as children grow older into adolescence, wise parents will give them increasing freedom, responsibility, and autonomy. But The Cocky Rooster is a picture book designed for children under 9 years old, to reinforce the idea of the need for loving parental guidance in a broken and sometimes dangerous world.
In a nutshell, the story tells the tale of a Rooster who lives on an urban farm, (possibly in your neighborhood!) He resents being cooped up in the henhouse with the hens every night. He wants to meet the nighttime animals and have his own adventures…
One night he finds a way out, and has an adventure that he is ill-equipped to deal with on his own, resulting in consequences he couldn’t have foreseen.
Following are a couple of consecutive page excerpts, so you can see the wording and 
typical page length:
“You’re not big enough to overcome the fox,” she said gently.
The rooster knew she was right. “I wanted to see the nighttime creatures,” he said to her.
“But you are not a wild creature like the nighttime animals. You need the protection of a farmer and a dog.” Again the rooster knew she was right. He now very much wanted to get back to the henhouse.
“I do want to return to my coop now,” said the rooster. “Will you help me to get back home safely?” The graceful deer promised to do the best she could. (pg 21)
Together, they carefully walked back through the neighborhood, watching closely for any sign of the fox. Soon they safely reached the urban farmer’s home, where everyone was fast asleep.
“This is where I live,” said the rooster, thanking his new friend.
Quietly, he slipped past Rufus’s doghouse where he could hear Rufus snoring. Soon he would be back in the coop where he would fall asleep to the sound of the snoring hens. (p23)
Unless otherwise stated, all books will be a typical 32 page storybook length, and 8 x 10 inches in size. I’ve made 3 options available to you:
> Ebook format – $4.95
> Paperback format – $14.95
> Hardback format – $18.95
For the release of this first title I’m offering FREE SHIPPING on orders inside the U.S.
You and your child can enjoy The Cocky Rooster, together, very soon – in fact, before bedtime tonight if you order the ebook now!
GIFT GIVING: If you are a grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, or someone in a position of caring for young children in any capacity, please consider ordering a book for the kids in your care. Remember – a great storybook can be a great gift for a child who already has a humongous pile of toys and video games. A great story goes to the heart!
And speaking of gift giving, I should also mention that at this point I have no plans to sell these books in stores or on Amazon. The only way to get them will be from my Big Picture Publishing website BOOK STORE. This means that if you order my books as a gift, it’s almost certain that your little loved one won’t yet have a copy.
I hope you and your loved ones enjoy The Cocky Rooster. I can hardly wait to get started illustrating the next book – The Friendly City. Watch for it here!
Hi Scott,
I am placing my order now! I’m very excited to give this to my grand daughters.
Is there anyway I can get you to autograph it for them Reading is very important in their family – their mother – our daughter- is an English professor who teaches poetry at CSU. Their father also has a Doctorate in English although he is a practicing attorney now. We love books and are so excited to get one from you – our friend the author and illustrator!
Thank you!
Gretchen Steensen
Hi Gretchen,
I’m responding to your question publicly because this is the second time this has come up in the last few hours. In your case it’s easy, since we share stompin’ grounds. When your order arrives, simply bring it to church and I’ll sign it.
For out-of-towners, it’s more problematic. The issue is that I never actually touch the books since they are printed and shipped by a third party. So I guess in that case I have to charge extra shipping since I have to have them first shipped to me, sign them, and then ship them back to the out-of-towner.
Does that sound fair to the out-of-towners?
…And thank you all for your support, by the way!
Hi Scott,
Looking forward to seeing your book. I’m sure I’ll love it. If you think a bookstore in your town would be a good fit for my book that I sent to you I’d be happy to work out a fair price with the owner. I’m looking for new outlets.
Best wishes on your new adventure. I know the stories come from your heart.
Eva
Thanks Eva,
‘Hope you’re getting a good response from your book. Marketing self-published books seems to be the hard part. This time around I’m not planning to take my books to bookstores. It was just too much for me to keep up with in addition to everything else I had going on. Last year two small, privately owned bookstores in downtown Loveland closed, (including the one that carried my first book.) There’s still a Barnes & Noble, but last I checked you have to have a distributor in order to be in their store.
Great, this was an interesting find, thanks for putting it up, I’m probably going to check back on what other folks are sharing!
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure and sign up on my homepage to receive announcements for new upcoming storybooks.
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Thanks Roxanne! I you have small children in your life, please do sign up in the blue box so that you can receive notifications from me when new storybooks are released.
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I don’t do a formal newsletter, but if you sign up in the blue box at the top right corner of this website, you will receive a monthly blog post. This also enables me to notify you when a new storybook is released. Thanks for asking!
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