Cronin, Doreen. 2000. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type. Simon & Shuster Children's Publishing Division. New York, NY. ISBN 0689832133. Illustrated by Betsy Lewin.
Plot Summary
Farmer Brown is shocked when he learns his cows have figured out how to type on the old typewriter. What are they typing? At first, the cows ask for electric blankets. Farmer Brown refuses, but he gets another note informing him he will get no milk. The chickens also ask for blankets, but are also refused. The chickens decide to join the strike. After Farmer Brown composes a letter, sent by Duck to the cows, he agrees to trade electric blankets for the typewriter. The cows agree. However, Duck keeps the typewriter, and writes his own letter. What happens? Suffice to say, the ending is a "splashing" good time!
Critical Analysis
The blend of fantasy, reality, and humor are certainly reasons Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is a New York Times Best Seller. The whimsy found in the loose lines, the deliberate smudges, and in the lively colors, paint an ordinary farm with an extra-ordinary secret! The wittiest moments of this book are painted into the facial expressions of by-standing animals. A variety of textures are seen throught the movement of the lines in the fields, animal's fur, and especially Farmer Brown.
This story is a nonsense tale, deliberately lacking a moral, which only enhances it's appeal to children. Although Farmer Brown is a one dimensional character, his relenquishing the blankets shows his kind nature. Duck, on the other hand, allows his actions to speak more than his words. By using his cleverness, he ends up getting his diving board.
The rhythmic verses spread throughout the story make this story picture book a balanced fusion of poetry and prose. The only problem in the book is the fact that the barn is so far away from the house. This showed the fact that the illustrator did not do her research and missed this important cultural marker. Barns were deliberately made close to the house to keep an eye on the animals and incase of fire. However, despite it's minute flaws, children of all ages will find this an entertaining book.
Review Excerpt
Horn Book Magazine:"The story is told in economical prose, with the typewritten notes blended smoothly into the text. Betsy Lewin's illustrations, splashy watercolor washes, follow Farmer Brown from perplexed to perturbed, with his angry reaction to the cows' demands silhouetted against the barn door while the animals peek out with bovine passivity. The pictures of the cows and ducks striking typewriter keys with hoof and wing are equally delightful. That typewriters may be as anachronistic to today's kids as rumble seats and spinning wheels won't lessen their enjoyment of this amusing story. They may have never heard the racket of a real typewriter, but they will certainly be familiar with the art of negotiation, and will soon be chanting along: "Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, moo." "
Connections:
Brown Bag Book Report of Click, Clack, Moo. Using the following items, one can tell the story holding up each item as they discuss it. Items could include:
cow
picture of a type writer
each one of the typed notes in the story
a rubber chicken
a rubber ducky
fuzzy fabric to represent the electric blankets
an easter egg
empty milk carton
Follow Up Activity to Reading Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. The Librarian will read the follow up books to this series. They are Giggle,Giggle, Quack and Dooby Dooby Moo.
What If Game to Reading Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. After reading the book, the librarian will ask the following prompts: "What if cows that typed and the Chick-fil-A cows met and became friends? What would happen?" The librarian will hand students a peice of paper folded into a tri-fold. Students could draw the beginning, the middle and the end of their What If Game tale. Older students might be required to have three events in each box, to represent a visual comic strip. (You could also contact your local Chick-fil-A and see if they would come in with someone in a cow suit and offer incentives for reading.)
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