Kiki and the Cuckoo

When Kiki sees the green and brown Kansas meadow laid out below him like a welcome mat, he knows just was to do- claim the meadow as his own, sing a beautiful meadowlark song, and attract a lovely meadowlark wife. What could go wrong with such a simple plan for happiness? Kiki quickly finds out, for no sooner has he rid his field of the troublesome Pekeat than another voice intrudes upon his territory: "Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" And this challenger won't go away! So begins Kiki's rivalry with the mechanical inhabitant of a clock- a rivalry that threatens Kiki's fondest dreams. Kiki scolds the cuckoo. Kiki battles the cuckoo. Kiki even impersonates the cuckoo! The story of how Kiki finally reclaims his meadow will delight children at at the same time teach a valuable lesson about competition and about the importance of choosing our contests with care. Author Elizabeth Happy knows the meadowlarks. Every spring she looks out the window of her Kansas home and sees the yellow flash of their returning and hears them staking claims to the meadows around her house. Her witty story of one meadowlark's ordeal is gloriously enriched by Andra Chase's vibrant watercolors, detailing the grasses, the wildflowers, and the creeping, crawling, and feathered creatures of the Kansas prairie.