The Little Rabbit Who Liked to Say Moo by Jonathan Allen

by Jonathan Allen

“Why are you saying moo?” asked Calf. “You're not a cow!”
“ I like moo,” said Little Rabbit …

 Here's a farmyard frolic that will have kids quacking, oinking, and hee-hawing along with a cast of adorable animals. The fun begins when Calf hears Rabbit out in the field mooing—and feels inspired to give a great big BAA. Why? Because he likes the sound! Before long, Lamb, Piglet, Baby Donkey, and all the other creatures on the farm realize they're not limited to their own language, but can enjoy experimenting with others.

The cute surprise ending shows that Little Rabbit—who started the delightful chorus by thinking outside the box—still plays by his own rules. Thanks to Jonathan Allen's wonderful illustrations and engaging join-in text, this will become a favorite that kids will read again and again.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Humor, Rabbits, Fiction

Board Book

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Allen has much to say about little animals in yet another storybook. Little Rabbit enjoys life on the farm, particularly the odd MOO sound that she makes. While visiting some of the other animals, Baby Rabbit learns different sounds that can be made, all of which really appeal to her. By the end, all the animals discover a sound they like best, including Baby Rabbit, though it is not the one you might expect. Neo likes farms and little animals. While this book may have been a little below his level, it was a nice way to end the day!

[Emi えみ Takami 鷹見 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a hit at storytime today.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't realize I had read this before in January 2013, but read it today for a story time class visit and the kids were wonderful at shouting out the varied animal sound effects, even if they were puzzled by the rabbit making all these different noises. Personally, the repetition started to bore me, but they seemed perfectly fine with it. And they immediately all started giggling at the end when the rabbit goes "WOOF".

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember that when I was growing up it was really important to know what sound an animal made, and for all I knew, rabbits did not have a sound. (I wondered about deer as well). Really, I think I used to obsess about it. (In the manner that librarians obsess about the proper categories for things). Therefore, a good subject for a storybook would be a rabbit who decided they'd rather borrow other animal sounds since they didn't have much of a sound for themselves. Let's run through all of them: Moo, baa, oink, etc! Luckily rabbit found a gang of other animals who enjoyed saying the 'wrong animal' sounds though they naturally gravitated toward the sounds they usually made (everything in its place, right?). However, in the end, we are left with a stubborn bunny who didn't learn the lesson about making the sound you're supposed to make....A good participatory storybook for storytime. I like the use of big fonts for big sounds, and littler fonts for smaller sounds. This is the way kids learn that words and the way they are written can suggest volume, and a host of other things about language. The drawings have the lovely fuzziness of watercolor or digital spraypaint. I think kids enjoy the matching game and ultimately making sure that animals go back to making the sounds they are SUPPOSED to make. Yeah, except for bunny.

[createitlibrarian (Amanda) · Rating 4 out of 5]

For ages 2-3. a silly book about animal sounds.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable and amusing animal sounds picture book.

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children will enjoy all of the farm animals. There is an opportunity for participation as part of the story is making various animal sounds.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a children's lit unit. A nice book that teaches a lesson on doing what you enjoy and not adhering to stereotypes or societal roles.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story. he goes around asking other animals what noises they like to say. it's interactive. would be fun for storytime.

[Mon Terrés · Rating 4 out of 5]

That rabbit is a savage <3

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fun story. It's silly. There's fun repetition.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! The 2 year old fella was upset that the book didn't continue... He wanted me to flip the page to see a dog!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved reading this silly book with my niece! Probably better for home than library, as the animals make louder and louder noises!

[Bonnie Arriola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute!

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book involving the sounds of animals on a farm, (with a surprise)





----
not inspired by the image of the little rabbit....

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5

[Angeles Otaño]

Read it to Kayleen's Day Care Center and a mom and a little girl

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Little Rabbit Who Liked to Say Moo by Jonathan Allen is a great story-time or read aloud book about a little rabbit who loves making animals sounds. Young farm animals join in. The ending has a nice twist promising more fun to come.

The text has repetition, and the opportunity for participation in making animal sounds, nice and loud. The illustrations are clear and cute. There are messages about experimenting and thinking outside the box, but most kids will just have a ball making those farmyard sounds!
The proper names for baby farm animals (calf, lamb, piglet, baby donkey, duckling) are introduced.

For toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarteners, read-aloud, farm animals, animals, sounds themes, and fans of Jonathan Allen.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a totally great storytime book that plays with the conventions of typical "what noise does a cow make?" books. I like to start off by asking if rabbits have a big noise they can make; the most common answer is that they go, "BOING BOING BOING!" which is hilarious. Kids love making all of the animal noises as loud as they can. The reason I'm only giving it three starts is that the actual dialog in between animal noises really needs to be spiced up a bit to keep it from being boringly (as opposed to reassuringly) repetitive.

[Tabatha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really thought this book was successful at storytime. The book engaged the kids enough without overwhelming them with too much plot. I also liked the repetition of the names. The kids eventually expected everyone to talk...and the ending is a great surprise to the toddlers. It may be difficult with a younger group, getting them to talk and warm up to the story and participate. But overall, really fun.

[Sunnyvale Librarian]

Calf asks Little Rabbit why he likes to say "moo." Little Rabbit explains that he says "moo" because "rabbits don't have a big noise." The two are joined by other animals, and each suggests the sound of a different animal and everyone joins in loudly to make big noises. The combination of Allen's appealing artwork and an opportunity to make loud moos, oinks, and baas will make this a read aloud hit with preschoolers.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book I really like to read at story time with its combination quiet, reasonable tone as a vocal rabbit discusses with various animals the sounds he enjoys making and they join in. It also has great areas to encourage noise (as in yelling out animal sounds) which is fun to do in when reading a book in a reasonable and quiet tone. A fun book that will invite participation.

[Christie Suh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A children's book about animals. A little rabbit likes to make sounds that other animals make and when he makes a noise such as oink, a pig shows up and they agree on moo. This continues to happen until there are six animals in all. The other animals agree that they like their own individual noises and rabbit decides he like "woof".

[Jessica Adams Duzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable! Great for toddler storytime. Discusses the different sounds that animals make. Great for audience interaction. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of the kids when I asked them "what sound does a rabbit make?" I love that at the end the little rabbit decided that he liked to say "woof."

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a big hit at a storytime program I did. I paired this book with "Bark, George!" by Jules Feiffer, since they had similar plots. The kids loved making the animal noises and shouting out that rabbits don't make x sound, but x animal does. If you're looking a quick book that will illicit participation and laughter, I highly recommend this one.

[Library Quine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cumulative story about a rabbit who likes to imitate the noises made by other animals. His noises attract a number of other animals who all join in. Storytimers can add to the noise too, making it a fun read aloud. The story also introduces children to the names for young animals (calf, lamb, piglet, duckling and 'baby donkey').

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable, and great for toddler storytime. Starting with a rabbit who moos, several baby farm animals begin making each others noises until they settle on the sounds that they like best - their own. Great for getting kids to make the animal sounds, and a solid read-aloud.

[Catherine McNiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only kids book that made enough of an impression on me to put into Goodreads. Its a short, simple book, but I just get a kick out of it...I don't even mind reading it again and again. And without giving anything away, there's a surprise ending. :)

[Arminzerella · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books that little kids will love if you ask them to make the noises along with the characters. Cute illustrations (it had a bunny on the cover, so I had to read it), predictable plot, fun to repeat.

[Caiti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great storytime book, especially for preschoolers. They can read along while making the animal noises and love to point out when an animal makes the wrong sound. Great for easily distracted toddlers, it's short with fun illustrations, repetition, and lots of interactive fun.