A Possessed Pig, Petrified Poultry & Brave Bovine – “Minnie And Moo Meet Frankenswine”

This was one of the books that started me out on the Denys Cazet Minnie And Moo series! As I have mentioned in several other book reviews, my friends ran out of Halloween related things to get me so they started buying me books. These are great to have for kids that are just starting to read on their own and there are more than enough in the Minnie And Moo series to keep them entertained. They are part of the “I Can Read” series targeted towards kids that are breaking away from supervised reading. There aren’t a lot of hard words in the book but it is a step up from the level one and two readers. In this book kids will join the two precious cows on yet another adventure, this time it’s to try and discover the mysterious glow coming from the barn and to try to debunk the rumors of a monster dwelling within it.

Minnie And Moo Meet Frankenswine

The story opens on a dark, dark night. Moo is having trouble sleeping and wakes up Minnie … “something is out there” she says much to the chagrin of Minnie who was deep in the midst of a dream. The flash of light and the sound of thunder were all that were needed to make both of them realize that something was going on outside. The other animals knew it too, they all flew, ran and scampered out of the barn screaming “MONSTER IN THE BARN”. As usual, they all flocked to Minnie and Moo to tell them that Olga as missing. They soon left the safety of the tree to hide out behind the farmer’s house. Moo starts to get obsessive about the feeling of the night and says, “Minnie, this is the kind of night that curdles your milk”. A very cute pun …

Once again, the animals made a mad dash for Minnie and Moo, this time they said that the monster not only ate Olga but the farmer and his wife. That same unseen monster was still in the barn .. waiting for any brave enough to enter. Zeke, one of the chickens, offers up some proof in the form of the farmer’s leg. All the animals gathered around it, saying that the farmer sure was skinny, that’s when the light in the barn went out. Minnie solves this part of the mystery when she tells everyone, after they all counted their legs of course, that it is nothing more than a tree branch and not the farmer’s leg. The monster, s described by the rooster was blue, had six inch fangs and horns. Minnie and Moo had enough of this chitter chatter, it was time to go an find out what was really hiding in the barn!

Sheepishly, some of the other animals followed. Minnie and Moo got ready to open the door and you could cut the tension with a knife. They grabbed the doors, flung them open .. and … standing there … in the middle of the barn .. was … a glowing little pig! The less courageous of the bunch started shouting “It’s Frankenswine” and “Run for your lives”. The mystery is explained when little Olga, the previously missing little piggy, says that she fell asleep near a big machine then there was a flash of light … and she lit up like a Christmas tree. The machine in question was the milker that was used on the cows. Everyone settled back in for the night and Minnie and Moo looked out the barn window. There, under the tree sat rooster … the words “even rooster isn’t dumb enough to sit under a tree in a thunderstorm” should give a clue as to what happens next …

My Take

Written and illustrated by Denys Cazet, this is a great book for kids that are just starting to read on their own. It has a great story, incorporates a lot of the farm animals and keeps you guessing about the mystery in the barn until the last few pages. One thing that I really love about this series is that there are cute little lessons in most of them; some gently remind you not to judge people by the way they look, others teach that it is better to give than to receive. No matter what the subject matter, Minnie and Moo are always there to lend a helping hand to any of the animals [and sometimes the farmer and his wife] whenever they need it. More often than not, this is something that goes right over the heads of adults that read them, they get the basics of the story and that it’s “cute” but they miss the principal behind it. That’s where little Annabelle comes in, as soon as she read this one she raised her eyebrow and said, “I bet it’s nothing more than a little piggie in a costume”.

The Bottom Line

There are a few lessons to be learned from all this. [1] a tree branch kinda sorta does look like a leg in the middle of the night [2] never sleep next to the milking machine in a thunderstorm and [3] don’t let fear get the best of you! As usual the book shows Minnie and Moo as faithful friends to the other barnyard animals, never too tired to help out but this time around there were no cream puffs for them to munch on while they solved the mystery! If you read any of the other books in the series then add this one to your list, it’s cute, the illustrations really add a lot to the story and kids really get into it. Over the past few years this has been one that has gotten a lot of use around Halloween, if you add a little bit of drama to the spoken parts – kids will sit there on the edge of their seats listening … and learning.


As always, thanks for the read!

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2005 Freak369


Other great Halloween books for kids …

Halloween Night on Shivermore Street
Rookie Read-About Holidays: Halloween
The Halloween Book
The Hallo-Wiener
Crafts For Halloween
Aunt Eaters Mystery Halloween
Spooky America
Days of The Dead




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