Module 5-Dooby Dooby Moo

Book Info:
Dooby Dooby Moo by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2009.

Summary:
At this year's county fair there is to be a talent show with the first prize of a trampoline, which all of the farm animals desperately desire. Again Duck and the other animals must outwit Farmer Brown so that they can perform and win the talent show and the trampoline. However, all of the animal acts meet with disappointment when they don't receive very favorable scores, leaving Duck to go out on stage and try to win the trampoline for them all.
My Take:
I found this book really hilarious and silly, which is just great fun to read. The illustrations add to the witty writing, making the animals look like a fun cartoon while still retaining enough of a likeness to their real-life counterparts so that children could easily recognize the real thing (however, let's hope they don't expect pigs to do an interpretive dance or ducks to sing). Though not a book which enriches the reader with brilliant language and increased vocabulary, this and the authors' previous works are fun reads which can be enjoyed by both kids and parents, especially if they read the books together.
Reviews:
School Library Journal ( August 01, 2006 ; 0-689-84507-3 )
K-Gr 3-When Duck discovers an ad in the paper announcing a talent show at the county fair (first prize, a slightly used trampoline), Farmer Brown's animals are unstoppable. The cows and sheep concentrate on their singing while the pigs work on interpretive dance. How the suspicious farmer could ever confuse all this noise with routine snoring is a bit of a stretch, but the hilarious late-night practice scenes inside the barn will help readers make the leap. At the talent show, the cows and sheep impress some of the judges, but lack of sleep has the pigs truly snoring when it is time to perform. Fortunately, Duck steps in to save the day with a winning version of "Born to Be Wild." After the talent show, Farmer Brown suspects nothing until he hears "boings" coming from the barn. Comical watercolor illustrations provide the punch lines to many jokes within the well-paced text. Some of the sophisticated humor will go over the heads of most children, especially the witty footnotes that pepper the story. However, like Click, Clack, Moo (2000) and Giggle, Giggle, Quack (2002, both S & S), this story makes a great read-aloud, and fans of the series will be ecstatic to see another episode of mischief in the barnyard.-Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Suggestions:
A very fun book to use at storytimes, especially if they're used in conjunction with the other Duck books by Cronin and Lewin. The illustrations will (hopefully) tickle children's funny bones as will the story itself as it relates all of the antics the animals get up to.