Benji Cole of CBS Radio interviews Jeri Lu Heen, author of “The Roosters Next Door,” a beautiful rhyming tale that offers a sweet lesson and is a wonderful, relatable bedtime story

We are ‘wanters’ and ‘needers’ but none of us are ‘keepers.’ Most often than not, we want and need new and beautiful things, but the moment we have them in our hands, we want something else—something new. We long for what is not in our grasp. Sometimes, something that is challenging and mysterious — not meant for us.

At times, there are things in life that annoy us, that are painful in our eyes and ears. But in their absence, we remember and miss their annoying presence. How many of us find the sound of roosters to be something that has order and rhythm? While others see a lot of things in life as meaningless, there are a few who find these meaningless things wonderful and meaningful. If we look closely, not based on what we anticipate seeing and influenced by our biases, we will come to realize that there is beauty in looking and appreciating what we are seeing or hearing – just the way they are.

Jeri Lu Heen’s book, The Roosters Next Door, stimulates the sense of calmness and homey experience scribbled through the rhyming words along with the meaningful and creative illustrations. After reading the book, the readers will have a different and fresh perspective upon hearing the sounds that the neighbors’ roosters make. 

We do not always recognize something’s worth until it is gone. The Rooster Next Door is a wonderful rhyming story about noisy, obnoxious roosters who disrupt your sleep with a combination of sounds we never expect to miss. Until there is no more cock-a-doodle-doo, that is.

Music, motion, rhythm, and poetry touch Jeri Lu Heen, the author of this book, Heen has been working in the industry since 1977 and has a BA in Early Childhood Education.

Listen to the full interview below: