The Cow Who Clucked
Starred Review.PreSchool-Grade 1–A cow wakes up to find that she has lost her moo and is clucking instead. She visits various creatures throughout the countryside, clucking at them and getting answers in their natural sounds. 'Cluck, cluck,' said Cow. 'Meow,' said Cat. 'It is not you who has my moo,' said Cow. And on she went. The repetitive refrain, It is not you who has my moo, has a sonorous charm and invites participation. Some readers will quickly realize that if Cow is clucking, she should go directly to Hen to find her moo. The Greek chorus of yellow chicks (who apparently follow Cow because she sounds like their mother) might be another wink to readers. When Cow at last finds Hen mooing, the two animals trade sounds and the chicks–silent up to this point–immediately find their own voice: peep. The gentle inside jokes, the animal sounds, and the repetitive phrase constitute only a fraction of this book's appeal. Fleming is, after all, a thrilling illustrator whose pulp-painting technique brings subtlety and texture to densely colored art. Here, she creates a countryside inspired by Van Gogh, and the net result is some of her most sensational artwork to date. The layers of subtle humor and visual splendor are truly impressive.–Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.