Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That type

Click, Clack, Moo Cows that type

Written by: Doreen Cronin

Illustrated by: Betsy Lewin

Published by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in 2000

Genre: Children's Fiction

Lexile Readability: 160L

Summary:

Farmer Brown owns a farm where one day he hears Click Clack Moo, Click Clack Moo. He realizes that the cows have a typewriter and they are typing him a note. It says that they want electric blankets because it gets cold at night in the barn. He would not give them the blankets so the cows went on strike. They would not give him milk until he gave them the blankets. He said no so they got the chickens to stop giving him eggs. The cows and farmer brown finally make a deal. They will give up the typewriter if they get the blankets. He agrees and the cows are happy. Now the ducks have the typewriter.

Evaluation:

This is a very intriguing and interesting book that really draws the attention of the readers. There are cows that type and likewise with ducks at the end of the story. This is something that does not happen in real life so it makes the book that much more interesting. There are also fun illustrations in the book that help describe what the text says. It has repetition which is really good for younger children trying to read along to the book. The plot of the story is for the cows to get their electric blankets so they can be warm at night. They do not get it so they keep trying things till they get the blankets and make a trade with the farmer. When you read the letters that the cows write you can picture them typing it. It is fun at the end of te book you get to see the cows with electric blankets and then the ducks want a diving board for their pond. It is something every unbelievable in real life because animals cannot really do this, but it is still a fun book for children to read. You are really able to see how stubborn the cows and the farmer are when they will not do what the other wants. It shows personality of the characters.

Literary Elements:

-          Plot- The plot of the story is that the cows want electric blankets and they are using a typewriter to send the message to their Farmer Brown. It is a plot that children who are reading this book will remember easily. It is interesting and easy to pick out.

-          Characterization- When reading this story the characters are really easy to get acquainted with. The animals all work together even though they are not able to talk to each other because they do not all speak “Moo”. Everyone in this book seems to be stubborn with getting what they want. The farmer does not want to give the cows electric blankets, but the cows keep insisting for them. You get to know the personality of the characters.

-          Point of view- You are really able to see the point of view from both parties in the book. The farmer does not want to give the cows blankets because cow are cows and do not need them. The cows want blankets because it gets cold at night in the barn and everyone can understand that  being cold is not comfortable.

Mini Lesson:

I would use point of view to teach a mini lesson to my students. Here I would have a situation and then have the students think of different ways people could take that situation, things that different people would want out of that situation, and reasons why. Then I would teach the students how to write a persuasive sentence for each person that they came up with in the situation. This would be an intro for younger kids to persuasive writings.

Illustrations:

The illustrations in this text are very well done. You are able to visually see what the text is trying to tell the readers. The pictures draw you in and show the expressions and personality of the characters.

Target Audience:

Young readers. Early elementary.