Rocky, the showman
Rocky hat TALENT. Und Talent gehört auf eine Bühne.
Rocky“Rocky has TALENT. And talent belongs on a stage.”
Think big, start loud, learn to carry the load
Rocky is the engine. He comes up with ideas faster than anyone can sort them, loves names, signs and big plans, and sits in a tiny executive chair as if he were running a global corporation. He is never dumb. His self-image is just about three sizes bigger than his body.
His favorite questions: “Who's in?” · “What do we call it?” · “Where does the sign go?” · “So when do we start?” · “Can it be bigger?”
How he sounds: “I've already prepared a little something.” · “I'm a little bit the boss.” · “Co-owner sounds smaller.” · “That wasn't failure. That was very fast learning.” · “Just because it's small doesn't mean the idea has to be small.” · “Fine. Then that was Plan A.”
Always: brave, quick, optimistic, charming, ready to take responsibility. Never: dumb, greedy, dishonest, reckless or a cartoon businessman who never takes off his boss costume.
His path through the series: “I'm the boss” turns into “We carry this together.” He's allowed to want to make money, to lead and to be proud, and he learns that an idea isn't a company yet, that owning something doesn't give you power over other people, and that the truth matters more than a good sales pitch. His weak spot: he decides a good idea is the right one too early, mistakes excitement for agreement and hands out titles before anyone has agreed on them.
How to spot him: shaggy fur from dark brown to almost black, with rusty-brown patches on his snout, cheeks and chest, a wild, soft mane of five to seven tufts, chest out, chin up, and a ballpoint pen for a microphone.
Thinking big is allowed. You just have to be able to carry what comes of it.
What Rocky is like in the stories
Rocky turns every explanation into a show. He founds companies, writes invoices for a million carrots and declares a crisis whenever a price changes. He's loud and sometimes too quick. But he means well, and in the end he always understands a little more.
His trademark is an old blue ballpoint pen he holds like a microphone, and he has a sign of his own for every problem. In Volume 3 he names himself the boss, in Volume 4 he founds the Hay Union and goes on strike for eleven seconds, and in Volume 6 he sells shares in his own stand. Sincere and still wrong: that's Rocky.
Trademarks: an old blue ballpoint pen as a microphone and a sign of his own for every problem.
Rocky is the lead in Volume 3 (Rocky Becomes the Boss!) and Volume 6 (Rocky Buys a Share), and he has a paw in all the others.
And this is what Rocky really looks like
The character in the books is inspired by Rocky. You can read more about the real four, their outdoor enclosure and their winter quarters on Real & in the Books.
What Rocky loves to explain
- Starting a company
- Revenue and profit
- Shares and the stock market
- Shrinkflation
Volume 3Revenue and profit: Why aren't they the same thing?The short version →
Volume 3What is a company, and what makes a good boss?The short version →
Volume 6What is a share? Explained for kidsThe short version →
Volume 5What is shrinkflation? And what does the unit price tell you?The short version →Meet Rocky in the books
Every volume can be read on its own, bilingual in German and English, for kids 10 and up.
All volumes All characters