There is a struggle – in kids’ books, as in life – between learning to appreciate yourself as you are and admitting you need to improve. Are you an ugly duckling, soon to become a beautiful swan, or are you the grasshopper, who could learn a thing or two from those industrious ants?

West Coast author Margriet Ruurs (Emma at the Fair, A Pacific Alphabet) comes up with an interesting combination of the two kinds of tales in Wake Up, Henry Rooster! Since he was a baby, Henry Rooster has always stayed up all night and slept all day. Now a typical teenager, he’s more interested in partying with the other animals than in taking over his father’s duties as the farm’s alarm clock. “Henry’s just not a morning rooster,” his mother says.

But when Henry’s father is away for a week, Henry is forced into the role. He makes a mess of it, until he gets the idea of staying up until dawn so he can crow the sun up, then sleeping all day. He can party all night and still do the responsible thing.

It’s not much of a message, but Ruur’s story is more about harmless fun, anyway. To that end, she keeps her prose straightforward and uncluttered, dropping the odd, funny detail, such as the fact that it’s a “Rooster Union Convention” that takes Henry’s father away from the farm.

Ontario illustrator Sean Cassidy gets in on the fun as well, filling each page with visual puns like the Fly magazine on the floor of Henry’s room and the Toro poster on the wall of the cows’ room. Henry is a particularly floppy-looking rooster, which suits his slacker status.

Given how successful Henry is at doing exactly what he wants, and how much fun he has doing it, parents and teachers may want to preface the story with a warning: Don’t Try This at Home.