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Tuesday, September 9, 2014

LS5603 - Picture Book 2: CLICK, CLACK, MOO COWS THAT TYPE by Doreen Cronin, Illus. by Betsy Lewin




1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cronin, Doreen. Click, Clack, Moo. Cows That Type. Ill. By Betsy Lewin. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.  ISBN 0-689-83213-3

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
Farmer Brown has a serious problem: his cows have gotten their hooves on a typewriter, and they begin leaving Farmer Brown notes with their demands! The barn is too cold, and they need electric blankets. When Farmer Brown refuses, the cows go on strike. To make it worse, the chickens decide they also need electric blankets and join the strike. What is a farmer to do without milk and eggs? Once again, Farmer Brown refuses, angry that the cows and chickens aren’t doing their job. After an emergency gathering between the Cows, the Duck, an intermediary party, brings a compromise to Farmer Brown.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Click, Clack, Moo is an adorable book about cows standing up for better working conditions.
The repetitious nature of the typewriter will engage children when reading aloud. The cows type quite a lot, and the sound of them typing, “click, clack, moo” is repeated often enough that children can join in as a refrain. The reader can also talk about the sounds that farm animals make.
Lewin’s simple and whimsical watercolors of the farm animals add to the fun and silly nature of the book. Painting cows typing on a typewriter is not an easy task, but Lewin does a masterful job of it. Whether it’s Farmer Brown stomping off or the cows typing furiously, the pictures feel as if they have action and movement.

3.   REVIEW EXCERPTS
2001 Caldecott Honor book
From Publisher’s Weekly: “Kids and underdogs everywhere will cheer for the clever critters that calmly and politely stand up for their rights”
From Booklist: “[Today’s preschooler’s] will love the slapstick of the domesticated animals who get the farmer to toe the line.”

5.     CONNECTIONS
Other books by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin
  • Clic Clac Muu Vacas Escritoras (Spanish edition of Click Clack Cows that Type) ISBN 1930332408
  • Dooby Dooby Moo ISBN 1416996176
  • Giggle, Giggle, Quack ISBN 1416903496
  • Duck for President ISBN 0689863772
Other books that use onomatopoeia
  • Moo, Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton ISBN 067144901X
  • Tippy-Tippy-Tippy, Hide! by Candace Fleming ISBN 0689874790
  • Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can  You? By Dr. Seuss ISBN 0679882820


Activity: Animals that live on a farm. This activity would work best with pictures of various animals and where they live on a farm so children can mix and match.
·         Who lives on a farm?
o   Cows, chickens, ducks, pigs, goats, horse, cat, dog, farmer
·         Where do these animals live on the farm?
o   Barn: cows,  chickens, pigs, goats, horse
o   Pond: ducks
o   House: farmer, dog, cat
·         What did the animals want in Click, Clack Moo?
o   Cows and chickens: electric blankets
o   Ducks: diving  board
·         If the other animals on the farm wanted something, what do you think they would want?
·         For example, horses run a lot, so maybe they want boots. As this is a fairly whimsical book (ducks don’t really need a diving board) the animal’s wants can be anything. Help the children brainstorm some things the animals could want, and then have them draw their animals with their desired item.

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