Grade K–3Community & Teamwork

Help Wanted: One Rooster

Written by Julie Falatko

Illustrated by Andrea Stegmaier

The farm needs a rooster — and the animals are taking applications. There's a very official sign, a very serious interview process, and a cow who is absolutely in charge. But as the candidates line up and the questions get asked, the animals discover that finding the right fit for a community job is more complicated (and more hilarious) than anyone expected. Julie Falatko's sharp, funny text and Andrea Stegmaier's warm, expressive illustrations make this a perfect read-aloud for conversations about community roles, what it means to contribute, and how groups make decisions together.

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From the Library Director

Help Wanted: One Rooster is a genuine delight. Julie Falatko has a gift for finding the comedy in everyday situations, and the premise here — a formal job interview process run by farm animals — is perfectly executed. The humor is layered: funny on the surface for young readers, and quietly sharp for adults thinking about hiring, community roles, and what we actually value in the people (or animals) around us. Andrea Stegmaier's illustrations are warm and full of personality — the cow's expression alone is worth the read. But underneath the comedy is something genuinely worth discussing: what does a community need? Who gets to decide? What makes someone a good fit? This is a wonderful book for launching conversations about fairness, contribution, and how groups work together. Highly recommended for K–3 classrooms and library story times.

Big Idea

Every community needs different kinds of contributors — and figuring out who fits where takes listening, fairness, and a willingness to think beyond the obvious.

Discussion Questions

1
Why do the farm animals need a rooster? What job does a rooster do on a farm? Can you think of jobs in your school or community that are really important but that people might not think about very often?
2
The cow is running the interview process. Do you think the cow is a fair interviewer? What makes someone a fair interviewer or decision-maker? What would make the process unfair?
3
What qualities are the animals looking for in a rooster? Are those the right qualities? Is there anything important they might be missing or forgetting to ask about?
4
Have you ever been part of a group that had to make a decision together — like choosing a game, a team captain, or a class project? How did your group decide? Was everyone happy with the result?
5
What does it mean to be a good fit for a job or a role? Is it just about skills, or does personality matter too? Can you think of an example where someone was really skilled but still wasn't the right fit?
6
Every animal on the farm has a different job. What would happen if everyone tried to do the same job? Why is it important for a community to have people (or animals) who do different things?
7
If you were on the hiring committee, what question would you ask a rooster candidate? What would you most want to know about them before giving them the job?
8
By the end of the story, do you think the farm made the right choice? What does the ending tell us about what the community really needed — and how they figured it out?

Activity: Help Wanted: Our Classroom

Students explore the idea of community roles and contributions by designing a job posting for a role in their own classroom — and then interviewing each other for it.

1
Before reading, ask students: What jobs exist in our classroom? Make a list together — line leader, door holder, plant waterer, librarian, materials manager, etc. Then ask: How did those jobs get assigned? Did anyone apply? Was there an interview? Introduce the book: today we're going to meet a farm that does things a little more officially.
2
Read Help Wanted: One Rooster aloud, pausing at each interview question to ask students: Is that a good question? What does it tell you about the candidate? What would YOU ask? After reading, return to the classroom job list: if we had to post a 'Help Wanted' sign for one of these jobs, what would it say?
3
Introduce the 'Help Wanted: Our Classroom' activity. Each student chooses one classroom job (real or invented) and creates a job posting. The posting must include: Job Title, What This Person Does (2–3 sentences), Skills Needed (at least 3), and one Interview Question the hiring committee would ask. Younger students can draw and dictate; older students write independently.
4
Pair students up for mock interviews. Partner A reads their job posting aloud; Partner B answers the interview question as if applying for the job. Then switch. Encourage students to be specific in their answers — not just 'I'm good at it' but 'I'm good at it because...' Debrief: What made an answer convincing? What made it less convincing?
5
Bring the class together for a closing discussion: What did you learn about the jobs in our classroom? Did any job surprise you — seemed simple but was actually important? What would our classroom be like if no one did that job? Close with a class commitment: this week, we'll notice and appreciate the jobs people do that keep our community running — even the ones no one usually thinks about.

Standards Connections

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K-3.3 — Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K-3.6 — Identify the point of view of the narrator or characters and explain how it affects the story
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K-3.4 — Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant details, speaking clearly
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K-3.2 — Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, supply facts and definitions, and provide a concluding statement
SEL — Social Awareness: Recognize individual and group contributions; understand diverse roles within a community
SEL — Responsible Decision-Making: Evaluate options fairly; consider the needs of the group when making decisions that affect others