Click Click Moo I Love You! Review

 Click Click Moo I Love You Review

Bibliography

Cronin, D. 2017. CLICK CLACK MOO I LOVE YOU! Ill. by Betsy Lewin. New York, NY: Atheneum             Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781481444965

Plot Summary

Cronin's simplistic Valentine's story has Little Duck preparing the barn for the special occasion. The farm animals arrive, food is eaten, valentines are exchanged,, but an appearance from an unexpected guest could change the festive mood. Colorful and imaginative illustrations perfectly pair with this story of friendship and acceptance that will get readers Quacking and Yipping. 

Critical Analysis

    Click, Clack, Moo I Love You, written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin, is a simple yet charming tale that touches on the themes of friendship, acceptance and diversity. Cronin's sentence structure flows together and makes the book easy for kids to follow and understand. Her inclusion of the "quacks" and "yips" makes it to where kids can partake in the storytelling, which makes the book all the more engaging. The plot itself helps children to see the importance of inclusion, even if others aren't exactly like you, which is a message that will resonate with lots of the readers. The fox's acceptance into the party and the animals breaking the status quo and dancing with other animals show young children that friendship and comradery can be found anywhere and with anyone. 

    The wonderful watercolor illustrations of Lewin with the added glitter on certain images draw the readers in and lead readers to want to interact with the pictures themselves. Lewin's art style for this book brings the Valentine colors of pink and read front and center and these colors pop out of the pages and help to create that heartfelt and loveable Valentine's Day mood.

    The combination of Cronin's playful language and Lewin's color scheme and cute animals make this book a must read for lovers of the frequent collaborators. 

Review Excerpts

Publishers Weekly: "Cronin subtly passes along some sage advice: the best parties have an element of the unexpected."

Kirkus Reviews: "A lesson in diversity and making people welcome that starts kids off on the right foot in these rough, divided times."

School Library Journal: "The textual simplicity and bright, clear visuals lend themselves well to storytimes and one-on-one reading, although the complexity of the pictures does invite more thorough contemplation."

Connections

-Story Sequencing: Number the boxes from 1 to 6 in the order they happened in the story

-More Valentine animal books: Happy Valentine's Day Mouse! by Laura Numeroff

                                                  Here Comes Valentine Cat by Deborah Underwood

                                                  Tiny T Rex and the Perfect Valentine by Jonathan Stutzman

-More books illustrated by Betsy Lewin: Good Night Knight, Tippy Toes, Thumpy Feet