Who Said Moo?

by Harriet Ziefert, Simms Taback

This deceptively simple, excitingly illustrated board book is based on a telling theme - that every animal has its own distinct sound. The text is perfectly targeted to the youngest children, who will thoroughly enjoy lifting the flaps and imitating the animals' sounds. The sumptuously colorful illustrations are sure to catch the rapt attention of the smallest child.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Animals

8 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun animal sound book. Like many other books, this reviews farm animals an their noises. (I've been wondering a lot recently why this is considered so important for young children to know). This book has half sized pages every other page that reveal the correct animal sound. Very colorful. I liked the baby cow at the end.

[Brielle Reicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cute story was a favorite of my kiddos, and it's perfect for any preschool or early elementary classroom. The story follows Rooster around the barnyard as he searches for the animal that said "moo". He meets many common farm animals along the way, and the audience is introduced to those animals and the sounds they make. In a classroom, this book with be great for an animal unit, sound unit, or simply a book to transition from one activity to another.
I used this for a puppet activity for class, and it would be a great finger puppet book!

[David]

My son enjoys this book and its flippy flaps. It has animals and animal sounds and even though he instantly knew that the Moo was coming from a cow he still likes to say the sounds of the other animals. The illustrations remind me of outsider art and the barn animals have a lot of character and charm.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit basic for my daughter but she picked it out and while I do nudge her to read more complex books, I also appreciate that you can sometimes enjoy a book that is easy and you know what is going to happen. The animal sounds is the theme of this book.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, cute book full of animal sounds. The toddlers I read it to liked doing the different sounds on each page.

[Milton Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learning some animal sounds. B

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the flaps which change the scene’s feel. And the rooster going to search for the “moo” culprit.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suitable for lower KS1 -A review of animal noises with fun flaps and vibrant colours. Could be used as a ‘hook’ book for phonics oo sound.

[Bismah · Rating 2 out of 5]

So so

[Alessandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s okay.

[Critley King · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was cute, but my 5-year old didn’t enjoy it. I think she is just ready for more complex books.

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome little board book! The art is rather spectacular, at least in board book world. The folk style is simplified with some homespun solid black linework and the earth-toned palette is mixed with pastels and even some brighter colors. I love the patterns of decorations on the rooster- reminds me a bit of a good sweater. It's a good number of pages (not too many) and might have a little too much text on each spread except that it's easy to abridge for the child who really just wants to lift the flaps. The consistent set up from page to page creates a nice pattern while the rooster's body contorts expressively in response to each animal. The flaps are even placed so they close up nicely inside the book and the ending is a nice surprise.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun lift-the-flap book full of animal sounds. I'm not crazy about the artwork, but I think younger kids might enjoy it if the reader really gets into the story. A 1996 book; may be hard to find. Worth a look.

Update: Actually used this at Storytime today. Works great for younger kids! Older kids, probably not so much.

[Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I like about this book: lots of great animal sounds, bright colorful illustrations, a fun story, sturdy flaps that are fun to turn. I like to look through this book by myself, turn pages back and forth, and practice animal sounds.

[Sarah Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Large illustrations. Animal sounds and a surprise ending.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

We were very fond of farm books. With part of each of my ex's family and my family farming, it is not surprisng. This is a cute book.

[Jacqueline]

We loved this book! Anna loved it because she could read most of it all by herself

[Angelina Justice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love using this book for story time. It can be done with babies, toddlers or Pre-K. It's a favorite with many of my Pre-K kids because they get to be the answering animals.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute book that's fun to read aloud, but Mini-Me does not appear to be a big fan.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brightly illustrated animal sound book with a very simple narrative and some small flaps. The board book is a little too small to share in storytime, but would otherwise be perfect for toddlers.

[Amanda Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is perfect for toddlers who are learning animals and their sounds. i will def. use this with my daughter if a few months when shes old enough to get the concept. i really enjoyed this book.

[Ann]

50 Books to Read to Your Baby(2013 Meade Co.)

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another animal sound book. Ok but there are many better ones out there.... A Goodwill find... We can never have enough board books to mix it up.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book for teaching kiddos animal sounds

[Sarah Ragan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book to teach children different animals and it was a very well written book.

[Leslie Bucklew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cool book that lets the reader play with the pictures and it's a good learning experience for animal sounds!

[Elizabeth Stange]

good way for children to learn their animals and what sounds they make

[Noelle Boc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the Simms Taback artwork and the fun storyline, perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

A simple book with lift the flaps. Good color, and my kids enjoyed it. Worth a read.

[Shayne Cope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the interactiveness of this book.