64) Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

Bibliographic Citation: Cronin, Doreen. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000. 32 pages. ISBN: 978-1416903482.

Format: Hardcover

Awards: Caldecott Honor (2001), Charlotte Zolotow Award Nominee for Highly Commended Title (2001), Vermont's Picture Book Awards: Red Clover (2002), An ALA Notable Children's Book for Younger Readers (2001), Charlotte Award (2002) ...moreMaryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award for Picture Book (2001), Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book for Children's Illustrated (2001)

Author/Illustrator Sites: http://www.doreencronin.com, http://betsylewin.com

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation: A group of barnyard animals give their farmer a set of very interesting

demands.

Reflection: Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and pictures by Betsy Lewin won the Caldecott Honor Book in 2001.  The expressive watercolor pictures accompanied the text perfectly.  The artist note in the book states, "For this book, I did brush drawings using Windsor Newton lamp black watercolor on tracing paper.  I then had the drawings photocopied onto one-ply strathmore kid finish watercolor paper and applied watercolor washes to the black drawings.  The advantage to this method is that I can get as many copies on the watercolor paper as I want, and can experiment with the color, choosing the finishes that I like the best." The story begins with Farmer Brown telling us that the cows love to type all day long and he hears "Click Clack Moo. Click Clack Moo. Clickety, Clack, Moo."  The literate cows go on strike and demand electric blankets or no milk and leave typewritten notes on the barn door for Farmer Brown.  When Farmer Brown doesn't respond the cows give him notes from the hens demanding electric blankets for the hens because they're cold.  So Farmer Brown gets his own typewriter and writes back to the cows that there will be no electric blanket and demands milk and eggs.  The cows call for an emergency animal meeting sending the duck out as a neutral party to negotiate a deal.  The cows typed that they would exchange their typewriter in exhange for electric blankets and Farmer Brown gave in to the their demands.  The book ends with a sweet twist when Farmer Brown receives a typewritten note from the ducks that the pond is boring and they would like a diving board, "Click Clack Quack.  Click Clack Quack.  Clickety, Clack, Quack."  The final page is a picture of a duck's bottom that has just dove off the diving board. 

Categorization Tags: Cow, Domestic Animals, Typewriter, Juvenile Fiction, Caldecott Honor

55) Duck on a Bike by David Shannon

Bibliographic Citation: Shannon, David. Duck on a Bike. Blue Sky Press, 2002. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-0439050234.

Format: Hardcover

Age Group: Ages 3-4 Years

Annotation:  Duck decides to ride a bike.

Reflection: Duck on a Bike is a story that mainly focuses on repetition.  It shows the

main character, duck, riding a bike past many of his barnyard animal friends.  His friends consist of a cow, sheep, dog, cat, horse, chicken, goat, two pigs, and mouse.  As he passes each different animal, the story shows that animal making its signature noise.  For example, the horse says “neigh” and the cat says “meow.”  At first, all the animals look down upon duck for riding a bike, but as the book nears its end, it shows all the other animals riding bikes as well.  This shows the moral of the story is don’t knock it until you try it.  This book also has very entertaining, full page illustrations.  

Categorization Tags: Ducks, Domestic Animals, Bicycles and Bicycling