Click, Clack, Moo I LOVE YOU!

 

Bibliography
Cronin, Doreen, 2017. CLICK, CLACK, MOO: I LOVE YOU! Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 9781481444965

Plot Summary
Farmer Brown is working hard at the farm to make sure his animals are well taken care of it, safe and healthy. It happens to be Valentine's Day and Little Duck is on a mission. Little Duck is determined to make this a special, memorable Valentine's Day by decorating the barn for a dance and creating Valentine's for every animal. The dance soon starts and the catchy music has all of the animals dancing. All of the fun has caught the attention of a little fox, who has ran past the fence Farmer Brown fixed earlier. The farm animals are stunned to see the fox, wondering if trouble was about to start. However, Little Duck immediately welcomes Little Fox and all of the animals have a great party. 

Critical Analysis
Cronin's writing is fluent, clear, and sequences well. It grabs the attention of the readers and they are able to follow the story with no problem. Especially when including the animal sounds to the writing, you can hear the sounds of the animals as you read over those parts. Cronin portrays her character, Farmer Brown, as a responsible, caring, and kind adult figure. Farmer Brown does everything he can to make sure the farm animals are cared for, healthy, and safe. Cronin's portrayal of Little Duck is similar to Farmer Brown; she is selfless, caring, and compassionate. Little Duck organizes a big Valentine's dance for all of the animals, ensures everyone receives a Valentine's, and welcomes in a lone little fox. Cronin's story teaches the lesson of joy when we welcome all to celebrate.

Lewin's illustrations support and guide the story well, the perfect addition. They are very detailed and soft, due to the watercolor illusion to the illustrations. The moonlight, night skies have been created beautifully with the watercolors used. Even the facial expressions of the animals are well done and capture the readers attention, especially when the farm animals are surprised by the arrival of Little Fox. The body movements are hilarious, since it's mainly portrayed during the dancing portion of the Valentine's dance. This book even contains glitter on each page, just to make the story sparkle and shine brighter than ever. 

Review Excerpt(s)
Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "A delightful holiday addition to the canon, sure to please librarians and patrons alike."
Starred review in KIRKUS REVIEWS: "A lesson in diversity and making people feeling welcome that starts kids off on the right foot in these rough, divided times."

Connections
- Young readers looking for clever, humorous adventures among farm animals.
- A great Valentine's Day read aloud for emergent readers. 
- Similar book recommendations: 
Cronin, Doreen & Lewin, Betsy. CLICK, CLACK, MOO: COWS THAT TYPE. ISBN 9781481444965
Cronin, Doreen & Lewin, Betsy. GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK. ISBN 9780689845062

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