When I became a PreSchool teacher I was introduced to a lot of books that I had never seen before. I am amazed at how many different and wonderful books there are. Our class loved to hear CLICK, CLACK, MOO Cows That Type over and over again. Thankfully, it is a book that I also enjoyed reading to them and had fun with them as they would repeat with me, the words:

Click, clack, moo.
Click, clack, moo.
Click, clack, moo.

The Story

Poor Farmer Brown.....his cows found an old typewriter in barn and decided to send him a note saying that they needed electric blankets to keep them warm. The note read:

Dear Farmer Brown,
The barn is very cold
at night.
We'd like some electric
blankets.
Sincerely,
The Cows

When Farmer Brown refused their request, they had no choice, sending another note they said:

Sorry.
We're closed.
No milk
today.

Hearing the cows busily typing he knew he was in for more....now the cows requested electric blankets for the hens too! Growing impatient, they left the farmer another note....saying that they would give no milk, and no eggs. Farmer Brown knew he couldn't run a farm without milk and eggs so he demanded that they give him what he needed, by sending a typewritten ultimatum with a neutral party...Duck.
The cows and the hens decided to strike up a deal....they would trade the typewriter for electric blankets, and send Duck over to make the trade.

***Spoiler Coming...Stop here if you don't want to know the ending***

The next morning Farmer Brown waited for the Duck to bring the typewriter....but instead got a note:

Dear Farmer Brown,
The pond is quite boring.
We'd like a diving board.
Sincerely,
The Ducks

Click, clack quack.
Click, clack quack.
Clickety, clack quack.

The Illustrations

I love the watercolor drawings in this book. The colors are vibrant, while not staying exactly within the lines of the drawing. This gives it a more child like appearance and is pleasing to little ones eyes as well.

Night time is shown by having the pages done in all greens to all blues. I like this affect, as it makes it seem as though it is going from dusk to darkness. Daytime pages are very bright background with whispy non definite clouds.

My Feelings

I enjoyed reading this book to our class...and having them chime in when the words Click, Clack, moo. would be in the story. The children seemed to love the idea of the animals taking on human characteristics, and found them endearing also.

There is not a lot of 'lesson' or 'teaching' in this book, but I don't object to a book just being fun. This book is definitely a fun one! I would recommend it for children ages 2 and up. The colorful pictures and sing-song verses would hold younger children's attention, and the story itself would hold PreSchoolers and older.

Nuts & Bolts

CLICK, CLACK, MOO Cows That Type was written by Doreen Cronin with her dedication being For my Dad...that made me smile. Usually it is for a child that children's book is written, this just made it seem that much more special.

The illustrations were done by Betsy Lewin with her dedication to Sue Dooley. The first page also has an artist's note describing the process that she used in illustrating this book.

CLICK, CLACK, MOO Cows That Type is a 32 page, Paperback Scholastic Book printed in April 2001.
I've now registered at the Scholastic site, so that I can find what prices they have on their books...unfortunately it will take a few days before they can confirm and allow me to look at the price lists. I will update as soon as I have that information. I do know that Scholastic is the least inexpensive way to purchase children's books.

Barnes and Noble has the hardcover book, Simon and Schuster printing, for $12.00 and recommends this book for 5 - 8 year olds. I think that they are misjudging our littler ones capabilities.






Recommended: Yes