Moo Hoo
by Candace Ryan
illustrated by Mike Lowery
Walker & Company, New York, 2012. 28 pages.
This book just makes me laugh. You can figure out the pattern from the first three double-page spreads:
Cow and Owl are friends.
Moo Hoo.
Hoo Moo.They make music together.
Moo Hoo.
Two coo.They fix things together.
Moo Hoo.
Glue shoe.
Cow and Owl each have a superhero toy. Owl’s superhero’s shoe broke when he hit it against his drum set on the second page.
But then a kangaroo shows up and wants to play. (Roo new.)
Roo wants to play, but Cow and Owl are hesitant to let him join them, and he feels bad. For this entire exchange, the same two-word rhyme structure is used.
At the end?
They discover that three is better than two.
Moo Hoo Roo.
New true crew.
I can’t decide if this humor and cleverness is a little beyond the usual preschool storytime set. I suspect that they would enjoy the simple language and the simple friend-making plot, while their parents would get a kick out of the clever wordplay. And I’m sure that early elementary school kids will enjoy it. It’s easy to read, and tells a clever story in a tightly-constrained format. A lot of fun.
candaceryanbooks.com
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bloomsburykids.com
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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.
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