Moo
Matthew Van Fleet, photos by Brian Stanton. S&S/Wiseman, $16.99 (18p) ISBN 978-1-4424-3503-2
Using a formula similar to its predecessors, Cat and Dog, Van Fleet's interactive board book identifies farm animals using simple, playful rhymes: "Mommy cow,/ Baby calf,/ Shaggy daddy bull./ Moo cow,/ Milk the cow—/ grab the udder, pull!" (The farmer's hands milk the cow at the pull of a tab, while a cat turns its mouth toward the spraying milk.) Textures—a woolly sheep, a duck's downy chest feathers—provide a touch-and-feel aspect, while flaps and pop-ups make this a playful excursion. Ages 2–up.
—Publishers Weekly, July 18, 2011
VAN FLEET, Matthew. Moo. photos by Brian Stanton.
PreS–This interactive board book dazzles the senses by portraying farm animals’ sounds and textures. Nimble fingers can manipulate pages that include lifting flaps to reveal surprises, pulling and pushing tabs that create animal actions, and touching textures that represent animal fur and feathers. Touch and sound combine when listeners discover a rubber duck among the real ones and push a pad that makes the toy squeak. Children will learn the names for male and female, adult and young of each variety (“Mommy ewe, Daddy ram, Lambs just born”). The minimal text includes rhythm and rhyme. Stanton’s full-color photographs contribute to the authenticity of the animals and the sensations stimulated in this book. Children are in store for an enriching, tactile-rich experience.–Diane Antezzo, Ridgefield Library, CT
School Library Journal, November 2011
A New York Times Bestseller
This multipurpose book follows the same format as the creators’ Dog (2007) and Cat (2009), expanding the concept to include various farm animals like sheep, chicken, pigs, and horses. Crisp animal photos are arrayed against a white background, and the spreads feature different interactive elements from fuzzy touch patches to spring-loaded tabs that put the critters in motion, to flaps that reveal simple pop-ups. The text offers rhythmic morsels of information, such as the goat page that reads, “Mommy nanny, / Daddy billy, / Little kids butt.” A hefty and handsome barnyard book. — Booklist
