Rooster Morris

Rooster Morris grew up living the cowboy life. At the age of five, Rooster began riding horses and working cattle with his father on ranches in the tri-state area of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Growing up in these remote places Rooster developed a unique way of entertaining himself. First he started imitating birdcalls and coyotes howling then began working on voices. Little did he know these vocal skills would someday result in the recording of audio books for children.

Rooster's musical skills are self-taught as well. He began learning to play the fiddle when he was a teenager. By the time he graduated from high school, he was playing for the historic Western Cowpunchers Association in Amarillo, Texas. He has since been recorded by the Smithsonian Institute playing old-time fiddle music, recorded a CD of his original compositions. Along the way he taught himself how to play guitar, mandolin, and bass.

In the year 2000 Rooster retired from ranching and began working with elementary educators all over the nation for the sole purpose of getting children excited about reading. Rooster had heard reports that young people were graduating from high school without efficient reading skills. With fiddle and books in hand, Rooster traveled near and far to entertain kids and to show them how reading can be fun. More and more children were asking Rooster, "Why don't you write your own books?"

"I couldn't ignore questions like that," said Rooster. So, he began writing on the first book of the series. Axle Galench and the Gate of No Return, which was released in both book and audio book form in the fall of 2004. The Axle Galench series is for readers third grade and up. Reviewers are calling Gate of No Return "riveting, compelling, playful, and absolutely hilarious." The second book in the series, In Search of Barnsfoggon, was released in August of 2005. The third book in the series, Axle Galench and the Spin Lizard Rescue will be released in the spring of 2007. The fourth book, Axle Galench and the Desert Doodle Bug is on its way.

After having performed in over 1,500 schools across the nation for over four million children, Rooster is even more driven to show kids that reading can be great fun! Furthermore, he encourages them to develop their own writing skills.

Rooster lives in Rockdale, Texas with his wife. For more information on Rooster or his books, visit www.roostermorris.com or www.axlegalench.com.