Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type: Caldecott Review #4

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, pictures by Betsy Lewin is a hillarious story about a group of cows that find an old typewriter and begin to type. They type all sorts of messages for Farmer Brown. The barnyard becomes quite literate and begins to annoy Farmer Brown. The cows lead the other animals is typing out signs and posting them throughout the barn to let Farmer Brown know problems they are having or things that need to be done around the farm. One of the best elements of this particular story is the strong story sequence that it follows. There is a distinct setting, plot, main idea, and order of events. This book is a perfect example of great children's literature. I absolutely love the comedy behind this story and the clever twist in the power of authority is the underlying catchiness that makes this book such a hit with young readers.

Childhood memories definitely influence my reaction to this book. I grew up on a farm and absolutely loved animals as a kid. I remember my dad taking me out to the barn to pet my pony or to the field to feed a baby calf. Those animals were personified in my young mind. I felt like they could understand things just like a human. I always had a big heart for animals and thgouht it would be so neat if they could tell us what they were thinking or feeling. I obviously do not have these juvenile thoughts toward animals now, but I do know that many of my first graders who live on farms remind me a lot of when I was a child. This story appeals to them, because just like me, they have personified the animals in their minds. Because this book adds a twist to the characters' power at the farm, the children are very intrigued by this book and find it extremely funny.

Doreen Cronin has written a variety of children's books. All of her books are centered around animals. One of my favorites is Duck for President. This story, like Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type also puts a clever twist on the main character of the story. Duck works his way from just a duck in a pond, to farmer, to govenor, to president. The charcters in this story are personified and it is a wonderful book to read to young students around election time.

By reading Doreen Cronin's Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type it is clear to see that children's literature should not only appeal to children, but have clear story elements as well to aid in the development of young readers. This book not only keeps children entertained and motivated to read, it also teaches them about fantasy vs. realism and uses repitition of the story line to allow young readers to follow along with the verse "Click, Clack, Moo. Clickity, Clack, Moo." The author also has a great website to accompany her books. I have used this site with my first graders. We explored her site using the ActivBoard. The website is as follows: http://www.doreencronin.com/doreen.html.