From Bogey Bear
What's more fun than a talent show? How about a talent show a the
State Fair. How about a talent show at the State Fair featuring
barnyard animals! This is a funny book that has a surprise ending
children just love and laugh at! I'd tell you more, but can't - it
should be a surprise.
About the Book
Duck and his friends are at it again. This time they're pooling their
considerable resources to win a local talent show, because first prize
is a TRAMPOLINE! The cows sing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' (to no
success).
The sheep bleat out 'Home on the Range' (need I say more?). The pigs fall asleep before their turn to perform the interpretative dance they've been practising for weeks. Fortunately, the best is yet to come...From Duck, who, it appears, was 'Born to be Wild'. The question is, how will Farmer Brown react when he finds a certain trampoline on his farm?
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 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 © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 3. When Duck reads about an upcoming talent show at the county
fair ("1st prize: A TRAMPOLINE"), he organizes the animals on Farmer
Brown's farm into nightly rehearsals. On Saturday evening, suspecting
that the animals are up to something and reluctant to leave them alone
for long, the farmer loads them all into the back of his pickup.
They sneak off to the contest and wow the judges with stellar performances such as Duck's "QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, QUUAAAAAACKK" ("Born to Be Wild"). The clever, deadpan story is fun, but the droll illustrations, strong strokes of black lines washed with watercolors, ratchet the comedy up a notch or two. Like the other books in the series that began with the Caldecott Honor Book Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type (2000), this amusing picture book makes a terrific read-aloud choice. Parents and teachers will find it well suited to sing-along storytimes.
Carolyn Phelan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
Doreen Cronin is the author of many bestselling picture books, including
Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky Adventure; Bounce; Wiggle; Duck for
President; Giggle, Giggle, Quack; Dooby Dooby Moo; and the Caldecott
Honor Book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. She lives in Brooklyn, New
York. Please visit Doreen online.
About the Illustrator
Betsy Lewin is the Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator of Click, Clack,
Moo: Cows That Type and its sequels, Giggle, Giggle, Quack, Duck for
President, Dooby Dooby Moo and Thump, Quack, Moo, in addition to a
number of other picture books, including So, What's It Like to Be a
Cat?and Two Eggs, Please. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.