Who Says Moo?

Youngsters match sounds and characteristics to the appropriate animals, including a pig, frog, cow, and orangutan, in a colorfully illustrated, rhyming introduction to the animal kingdom.

PreSchool-Grade 1-Youngsters will enjoy matching simple clues (sounds, descriptions) with 24 familiar (and a few not so familiar) animals in this appealing book. Large, uncluttered full-color illustrations are arranged on double-paged spreads and feature the animals mentioned in the text, insuring success in identification. Each creature is again pictured on the last two pages, together with a line of children of various ethnicities and ages, inviting readers to find "someone here like you." Appropriate for lap reading, group sharing, or for beginning readers to demonstrate their skills to a parent or younger sibling.
Claudia Cooper, Ft. Stockton Independent School District, TX
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Young's (Golden Bear) chipper rhymed text and Ernst's (Walter's Tail; Zinnia and Dot) typically crisp, sunny artwork (see The Luckiest Kid on the Planet, reviewed below) blend becomingly in this animal identification book. Such catchy queries as "Who is fuzzy?/ Who says quack?/ Who has two bumps on his back?" are answered by lighthearted depictions of chicks, a duck and a camel. The creatures, 24 in all, are identified on the final spread, which includes a gaggle of multiracial youngsters lined up below the accompanying text: "Can you tell me who is who?/, Is there someone here like you?" This collaboration, though serving its purpose in a generally entertaining fashion, seems particularly slight-the random subjects are identified only by characteristics that fit the verses, with no common thread linking the groupings. Little ones may be amused, but kids at the older end of the intended audience will be beyond the book's simplistic approach. Ages 2-8. (Sept.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 3-5. Who says moo? Well, all the kids will want to once they get a gander at this delightful picture book. The text is simple enough--very easy riddles in rhyme. "Who says squeak? / Who has feathers and a beak?" A mouse with a piece of grain in his paws wraps himself around the words while a bird on the next page looks on. In another spread, a fish, a polar bear, and a whale frolic in the water as kids are asked to pick out who likes water, who likes snow, and who can swim and dive and blow. It is Ernst's lively art that places this above the usual riddle books. Using large, rounded shapes and a layout that has the air of action (monkeys swinging and horses galloping across spreads), Ernst provides delightful pictures that will work especially well for groups. A key at the end identifies all the creatures. Fun for little ones. Ilene Cooper