Click, Clack, Moo - A Picture Book Review

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cronin, Doreen. 2000. CLICK, CLACK, MOO: COWS THAT TYPE. Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689832133

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Farmer Brown can’t believe his ears when he hears the sound of a typewriter in the barn. Cows that type? Then he can’t believe his eyes when he finds a note nailed to the barn door. The cows are cold and want electric blankets! Soon the hens join in and go on strike with the cows. As demands and negotiations fly back and forth between Farmer Brown and the cows, Duck’s involvement as the neutral third party doesn’t quite go as Farmer Brown intended. Finally an agreement is reached - or is it? The twist at the end will delight readers of all ages.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Doreen Cronin’s background as an attorney sparkles in this, her first book in the Farmer Brown series. The simple text is lively. The negotiations are hilarious. Children may not know about a typewriter, but they get a good idea of how one sounds. “Click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety, clack, moo.” Typed notes are integrated seamlessly into the text, and Farmer Brown’s incredulous exclamations to the notes draw the human readers into the story. (Animal readers may have trouble if they do not understand Moo.)

Betsy Lewin’s watercolor illustrations are bold and bright. While the text indicates the passing of time with transitions such as “The next day” and “early the next morning,” the illustrations help readers differentiate between what is happening during the day between Farmer Brown and the animals, and what is happening at night in the barn as the colors go from bright to shades of gray. The expressions on the animals’ faces are full of personality and spunk. Farmer Brown certainly has his hands full with this bunch!

Fortunately for us, Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin have collaborated on several books with the promise of more to come.

• A Caldecott Honor Book
• An ALA Notable Book
• A School Library Journal Best Book
• Child Magazine’s Guide to Top Books,Videos, and Software of the Year
• Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of 2000/Picture Book

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*School Library Journal: “A terrific picture-book debut for Cronin.”
*Horn Book: “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.”
*Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy: "A read-aloud must for teachers who wish to create classroom space for conversations about literacy and power with even the youngest of readers."

5. CONNECTIONS
*Have children log on to doreencronin.com and click on “Writer U” for fun ideas for writing stories of their own.
*Read some of the books on doreencronin.com under “Good Reads.” Talk about why she might like these books in particular.
*Read more books in the series - Giggle, Giggle, Quack and Duck for President were the next two, but there have been others as well. Children may then want to try writing their own adventure with Farmer Brown’s animals to add to the collection.
*Discuss the power of the written word as demonstrated by the notes in the book. How can our writing provide us with a voice that might otherwise be ignored?

Review - Caldecott Award Winner THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Selznick, Brian. 2007. THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439813786

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Twelve-year-old Hugo Cabret’s life is one of fear and hiding. Living behind the walls of the Paris train station, Hugo fights to survive after his father dies and his uncle disappears. Hugo’s life changes forever when he is caught stealing from a toy booth by the bitter old man who runs it. Hugo had been using parts from the toys to try to rebuild an automaton that his father had been working on before his death. Certain that the automaton held a message for him from his father, Hugo is desperate to finish it. However, getting caught gets in the way of his repairs. As he struggles to fix the mechanical man and discover the secret message, Hugo finds that the toy booth owner has a deep secret of his own that is threatening his well-being. Through an interesting twist of events, Hugo’s attempts to unlock the mysteries of the mechanical man and uncover the secrets of the old man suddenly become one and the same quest.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
“I want you to picture yourself sitting in the darkness, like the beginning of a movie.” Thus states the introduction. The book begins with the idea of being in a cinema, and the black pages of the book simulate the movie theatre. Text boxes provide a white background for the black text that is easy to follow. Dialogue among the characters accompanies the narrator’s verbal descriptions. The language is simple, yet has an elegance to it which befits the 1931 setting. The story moves quickly and builds dramatically as Hugo tries to solve the mystery of the mechanical man.

However, the real jewel of this book is not the text alone, but the pencil drawings which accompany the text - 284 pages of them. Selznick tells a large part of the story through illustrations that pick up where text leaves off and tell the story until the text resumes. Most of the illustrations are Selznick’s own art; however, appropriately placed throughout the story are movie stills from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and works by the filmmaker Georges Melies. The illustrations are fascinating as the reader turns page after page to see the beautiful drawings while continuing to “read” the story the pictures tell. They are full of movement and adventure. It would be impossible to separate the text from the illustrations. Neither can tell the story without the other.

This winner of the 2008 Caldecott Medal is fascinating, and the intriguing story will capture the imaginations of young readers and adults alike.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Starred Review in Publishers Weekly: “Here is a true masterpiece - an artful blending of narrative, illustration and cinematic technique, for a story as tantalizing as it is touching.”
*Starred review in Kirkus: “a uniquely inventive story told in text, sequential art and period photographs and film.”
*Starred review in School Library Journal: With characteristic intelligence, exquisite images, and a breathtaking design, Selznick shatters conventions related to the art of bookmaking in this magical mystery set in 1930s Paris.

5. CONNECTIONS
*Older elementary-aged children who are eager to break into the world of “big kids” chapter books may really appreciate this book. At 526 pages, this book looks like a real challenge. However, with nearly 300 pages of pictures, children will easily be able to finish this challenge and feel proud for having done so.
*Many of the drawings, especially the ones from the collection of George Melies, make good pictures for students to practice writing captions or short stories. In reverse, children may want to draw illustrations for portions of the story told in text.
*www.theinventionofhugocabret.com is a wonderful website to accompany reading of the book. Links take the reader to YouTube to actually view Melies’s A Trip to the Moon, see an actual automaton, learn about Brian Selznick, and much more.

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