  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 08/01/2013 PreS-Gr 2—There are only a handful of words in this book; the most important one is "Moo." Punctuation, repetition, and rhythm give it multiple meanings as readers turn the pages, which are joyfully illustrated with splashy gouache primary colors. It is hard to imagine a more expressive cow than this title's cartoon bovine. On the first page, the cow has a contented, peaceful moo. Turn a page, and she has an inquisitive, "Moo?" when she sees a car for sale; soon enough, she's on a joyride up and down the hillsides. The cow is the focus of each bright, borderless spread, and some pages include comedic close-ups of her face. The word "moo" appears on most spreads in a variety of font sizes, from tiny to gigantic, depending on the emotion of the moment. Children will laugh at the use of type and the artful arrangement of letters to convey action and sound. For example, when the cow drives off a cliff, her moo arcs up and then loops down, indicating the rise and fall of her bellow. For many children, this book will be their first introduction to punctuation. Even the very young will see how exclamation points and dashes can create a choppy, nervous feeling when the cow is confronted by a police officer. This book is bold, original, and funny, and should be part of every picture-book collection.—Jess deCourcy Hinds, Bard High School Early College, Queens, NY - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 09/01/2013 When her farmer puts a For Sale sign on his old red car, the cow takes it for a joy ride and lands in multiple bits of trouble. With the exception of a couple of landscape signs (such as the For Sale placard on the car), the entire text of this energetic and humorously anthropomorphic tale is composed of variations on the titular Moo. On some spreads, moo is rightfully drawn out to span the width of two pages—after hitting a rock in the road, for example, cow and car become airborne—while other moos are posited as questions or expressions of curiosity, glee, terror, and shame. Wohnoutka’s brightly toned cartoon illustrations provide a huge variety of perspectives but keep the cow well centered and ever on the go. The final verbal joke will tickle little readers. This is a delightful visual adventure, easy to pair with Nancy E. Shaw and Margot Apple’s Sheep in a Jeep (1988) and open to many sessions of independent rereading. - Copyright 2013 Booklist. Loading...
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