The following review is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for LS5603.20, Genre 1.
1. Bibliography
Cronin, Doreen. 2000. Click, clack, moo: Cows that type. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-689-83213-3
2. Plot Summary
Farmer Brown's cows discover an old typewriter in the barn and type a note to him demanding electric blankets. When Farmer Brown refuses, the cows refuse to give milk. The hens join the strike and refuse to give eggs. Farmer Brown again refuses and types his own note demanding that the cows and hens give milk and eggs. The note is delivered by Duck, who also takes the cows' response back to Farmer Brown. The cows and Farmer Brown agree to trade the typewriter for electric blankets. Duck is supposed to return the typewriter to Farmer Brown, but instead sends him a typewritten note demanding a diving board for the pond.
3. Critical Analysis
This book contains several elements that identify it as a quality book. The sentences are of varying lengths, with the narrative sentences longer and the notes from the animals made up of short declarative sentences (although towards the end of the book, the cows are getting better at their writing and manage a compound sentence or two.) Cronin's word choices are interesting. She does not use controlled vocabulary. In fact she includes the words "neutral," "furious," and "ultimatum," hardly typical elementary school vocabulary. The book has an element of predictability. The "Click, clack, moo" lines are repeated several times, encouraging children to read along. The lines also have a pleasing rhythm. While it is not realistic that animals could type, it is fairly easy to understand that they are representing ideas and thoughts that people often have when they feel they are being treated unfairly.
The illustrations in Click,Clack, Moo are so much fun to look at. In an artist's note on the verso page, Betsy Lewin explains the techniques she used to produce them. It is an amazingly complicated process that produced illustrations that look like they were just done with a child's watercolor set. That is an example of the work being so compelling that the reader is unaware of the talent and time it took to produce it (Tunnell and Jacobs, 27.)
The illustrations fulfill many functions in this book. They establish the setting (on a farm), portray the moods of the characters (who seem to get angrier as the story goes along), reinforce the text of the book, and extend the plot by providing a surprise ending not mentioned in the text. While it is not really part of the illustrations, the type font enhances the visual appeal of the book by reproducing the look of work done on an antique typewriter for the notes typed by the cows, the farmer, and the ducks.
4. Review Excerpts
Bookbag Magazine: This hilarious story with a surprise ending is a great tribute to fair play and introduces the power of communication in a way that even the youngest listener will enjoy. (Reviewed by Esme Raji Cogdell)
Booklist: The thickly outlined pictures extend the fun, with closeups of the frenzied boss, the stalwart cows, and the hens cozy under their plugged-in blankets. (Reviewed April 1, 2000 by Hazel Rochman)
Children's Literature: This broadly humorous nonsense finds an appropriately bold, almost slapdash visual counterpart in Lewin's illustrations.
5. Connections
Use this book as part of a unit on farm animals. Today's children may not have any idea where milk and eggs come from, other than a grocery store (as in Jack Prelutsky's poem "Milk!')
This book could serve as a basis for a discussion on animal rights.
Other books by this author/illustrator team:
Click, Clack, Quackity Quack: An Alphabetical Adventure. ISBN 0-689-87715-3
Dooby Dooby Moo. ISBN 0-689-84507-3
Giggle, Giggle, Quack. ISBN 0-689-84506-5
Duck for President. ISBN 0-689-86377-2
Click, Clack, Splish, Splash: A Counting Adventure. ISBN 1-599-61090-6
1. Bibliography
Cronin, Doreen. 2000. Click, clack, moo: Cows that type. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-689-83213-3
2. Plot Summary
Farmer Brown's cows discover an old typewriter in the barn and type a note to him demanding electric blankets. When Farmer Brown refuses, the cows refuse to give milk. The hens join the strike and refuse to give eggs. Farmer Brown again refuses and types his own note demanding that the cows and hens give milk and eggs. The note is delivered by Duck, who also takes the cows' response back to Farmer Brown. The cows and Farmer Brown agree to trade the typewriter for electric blankets. Duck is supposed to return the typewriter to Farmer Brown, but instead sends him a typewritten note demanding a diving board for the pond.
3. Critical Analysis
This book contains several elements that identify it as a quality book. The sentences are of varying lengths, with the narrative sentences longer and the notes from the animals made up of short declarative sentences (although towards the end of the book, the cows are getting better at their writing and manage a compound sentence or two.) Cronin's word choices are interesting. She does not use controlled vocabulary. In fact she includes the words "neutral," "furious," and "ultimatum," hardly typical elementary school vocabulary. The book has an element of predictability. The "Click, clack, moo" lines are repeated several times, encouraging children to read along. The lines also have a pleasing rhythm. While it is not realistic that animals could type, it is fairly easy to understand that they are representing ideas and thoughts that people often have when they feel they are being treated unfairly.
The illustrations in Click,Clack, Moo are so much fun to look at. In an artist's note on the verso page, Betsy Lewin explains the techniques she used to produce them. It is an amazingly complicated process that produced illustrations that look like they were just done with a child's watercolor set. That is an example of the work being so compelling that the reader is unaware of the talent and time it took to produce it (Tunnell and Jacobs, 27.)
The illustrations fulfill many functions in this book. They establish the setting (on a farm), portray the moods of the characters (who seem to get angrier as the story goes along), reinforce the text of the book, and extend the plot by providing a surprise ending not mentioned in the text. While it is not really part of the illustrations, the type font enhances the visual appeal of the book by reproducing the look of work done on an antique typewriter for the notes typed by the cows, the farmer, and the ducks.
4. Review Excerpts
Bookbag Magazine: This hilarious story with a surprise ending is a great tribute to fair play and introduces the power of communication in a way that even the youngest listener will enjoy. (Reviewed by Esme Raji Cogdell)
Booklist: The thickly outlined pictures extend the fun, with closeups of the frenzied boss, the stalwart cows, and the hens cozy under their plugged-in blankets. (Reviewed April 1, 2000 by Hazel Rochman)
Children's Literature: This broadly humorous nonsense finds an appropriately bold, almost slapdash visual counterpart in Lewin's illustrations.
5. Connections
Use this book as part of a unit on farm animals. Today's children may not have any idea where milk and eggs come from, other than a grocery store (as in Jack Prelutsky's poem "Milk!')
This book could serve as a basis for a discussion on animal rights.
Other books by this author/illustrator team:
Click, Clack, Quackity Quack: An Alphabetical Adventure. ISBN 0-689-87715-3
Dooby Dooby Moo. ISBN 0-689-84507-3
Giggle, Giggle, Quack. ISBN 0-689-84506-5
Duck for President. ISBN 0-689-86377-2
Click, Clack, Splish, Splash: A Counting Adventure. ISBN 1-599-61090-6
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