Dooby Dooby Moo

Starred review from June 19, 2006
What do you get when a bunch of farm animals decide to enter a talent contest to win... a trampoline? Sounds like the latest joke at the watercooler, but it's just Cronin and Lewin (of Click, Clack, Moo
fame) at it again, with an off-the-wall tale poised to deliver giggles galore. Here they reprise their bovine beauties crooning à la Sinatra. But they are not the only contestants of the barnyard persuasion: the pigs practice an interpretive dance and Duck belts out his rendition of "Born to Be Wild" in performances sure to amuse young and adult readers alike. While children will enjoy the pure silliness of singing animals alone, older readers will appreciate Cronin's tongue-in-cheek asides, such as the footnote about the trampoline being "slightly used," along with a legal disclaimer. Lewin's expansive brush strokes pay further tribute to this tall tale of animals that sing and dance behind closed barn doors. By story's end, the animals have returned to their regular routines, except for the extra "boing" in their song—whose source comes clear in Lewin's closing image of the animals enjoying the well-earned prize. Fans will hope for many more farmyard adventures from this dynamic duo. Ages 3-7.

December 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 1-Cronin and Lewin's picture book by the same name has been issued in a smaller beginning reader format. Most of the original text appears in this book except for notes on the bottom of two pages, which contain sophisticated vocabulary. These omissions do not detract from the story. One quibble: when Farmer Brown "watched from the left" and "watched from the right," the same spot illustration is used. This is a popular picture book and beginning readers are sure to enjoy reading it independently. VERDICT A solid entry to beginning reader collections.-Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2006
PreS-Gr. 3. When Duck reads about an upcoming talent show at the county fair ("1st prize: A TRAMPOLINE"), he organizes the animals on Farmer Brown's farm into nightly rehearsals. On Saturday evening, suspecting that the animals are up to something and reluctant to leave them alone for long, the farmer loads them all into the back of his pickup. They sneak off to the contest and wow the judges with stellar performances such as Duck's "QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUUAAAAAACKK" ("Born to Be Wild"). The clever, deadpan story is fun, but the droll illustrations, strong strokes of black lines washed with watercolors, ratchet the comedy up a notch or two. Like the other books in the series that began with the Caldecott Honor Book " Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type" (2000), this amusing picture book makes a terrific read-aloud choice. Parents and teachers will find it well suited to sing-along storytimes. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)