Click Clack Moo

by Doreen Cronin

illustrated by Betsy Lewin

*Caldecott Honor Book

Summary

On a farm, a farmer begins to notice that his cows are behaving strangely, having found an old typewriter in the barn. All day long he hears "click clack moo, click clack moo, clickety clack, moo." The cows decide to send Farmer Brown a letter asking for some electric blankets because the barn is cold at night, but the farmer says no because they are cows. The next day the cows had a note typed on the barn door that said no milk today. They then typed a note for the hens, and the farmer did not give the hens blankets either, so he wasn't able to collect milk or eggs that day. Duck then came with an "ultimatum", carrying a note to the farmer that says the cows will be willing to trade the typewriter for the electric blankets. When the switch is made, the cows receive their blankets, but Duck took the typewriter, and Farmer Brown found a note that asked for a diving board for the pond.

Discussion

This book is a favorite among children because of the humor throughout. When my cousins were younger they used to read this book to me, laughing the whole time about the story. I used to live on a farm, so they made the connection that animals were not really like this, but it was really funny to imagine them so. The drawings are clear and bright, but simple, so as not to overpower. I feel that humorous stories are more successful with clearcut sketched pictures as opposed to elaborate beautiful drawings. This book could be a read aloud book, used for Readers Theater as we discussed in class, or used as a story at home. Because children develop such an affinity for it, because of the language and the humor, many memorize parts of it, if not all, so they are able to read it independently. No groups are marginalized through this story, though Farmer Brown is white. I feel that animals and farms are discussed in stories enough that this story would not necessary make any child feel left out unless many of the children in the class had an overwhelming amount of experience with country life, which is usually not the case.

Cronin, D. (2000). Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.