by Doreen Cronin
illustrated by Betsy Lewin
Farmer Brown is always suspicious of his animals on the farm, especially when he notices they seem to be up to something.
Duck, the cows, the sheep, and the pigs are all set to win a local talent show. The first prize? A trampoline. The animals must get their practice in before the show if they are going to win first place, but they must do so without Farmer Brown knowing; and he is keeping an eye on them in all different and tricky ways. The animals decide to practice in the barn at night, singing and dancing, being coached by Duck himself:
"Dooby, Dooby Moo..."
"Fa La, La, La Baaa..."
"Whacka, Whacka Quack..." and while Farmer Brown thinks all he hears is snoring.
On the day of the fair, when all of the animals are acting strange, Farmer Brown will take no chances. He is bringing them to the fair to make sure they behave. When he leaves, the animals sneak off and sign in to the talent show (*contestants consent to the use of his/her name, photograph, and/or likeness for advertising and promotional purposes, don't worry).
The rest is up to the animals to win the competition without Farmer Brown finding out what they were up to when he gets back.
These crazy farm animals are the same that follow the Caldecott Honor Book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type series.
The illustrations of this book are comical watercolors that provide a basis for the story, but also include details that are not caught the first time reading through. This book is equally entertaining for adults as it is for children. The jokes embedded in the illustrations make it even more entertaining a read-aloud or reading individually.
This one comes highly recommended, Happy Reading!
-Cara
Cara, this sounds like a cute book! Did they win?
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