Baa! Moo! What Will We Do?

by A.H. Benjamin, Jane Chapman

A new animal has arrived on Buttercup Farm and everyone from Rooster to Cat worries that she will take his or her job, but when they discover Kangaroo's talent, they gladly welcome her into their home.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Board Book

Published September 1, 2003

About the author

A H Benjamin has been a children's writer since the mid-eighties. He has been published by Andersen Press, O.U.P, Little Tiger Press, Franklin Watts, Q.E.D and many other big publishing houses. He has written 34 books which have sold worldwide with 22 translations including Chinese, Korean, Turkish, Greek and Arabic. His books are very popular in schools and libraries. He currently ranks 345 in the UK PLR. Also some of his work has been adapted for radio, television and theatre.

He lives in Lincolnshire with his wife, Trisha. They have four grown up children and four young grandchildren who have all been an inspiration to him.

(Sources: Amazon.com author page, Little Tiger Press author page, Hachette Children's Group author page.)

Reviews

[Jordan Paxston · Rating 5 out of 5]

What If? by A. H. Benjamin, illustrated by Jane Chapman
Published April 1996 by Little Tiger Press
Picture book, animal fantasy
-Animals on a farm get nervous when they find out a kangaroo is coming to stay. They ask “what if…,” when they think about what the kangaroo will do. But they learn assumptions aren’t always true.
-I added this story because young readers will enjoy their silly questions and the story teaches a good moral about not judging someone before you meet them. As a response activity, this story would be great to have students create their own ‘what if’ question and predict its consequence. As students grow in understanding reactions, a teacher could introduce cause and effect.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone on the farm jumps to conclusions that whoever this new Kangaroo is, she'll take over their jobs and the farmer will send them away! In fact, everyone is so busy that they don't even realize what's happened until Kangaroo arrives and saves the day.

[Magnus · Rating 4 out of 5]

He seemed to be pretty happy with the book for the most part, was just a little too long for his attention span

[A. Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the best part of this book is that it shows how much people/animals in this case worry about nothing... and how we all have a place.

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maatilalle on tulossa uusi eläin, mikä saa muut maatilan eläimet jossittelemaan kauhuskenaarioita. Lopulta uusi eläin onkin yllättävä, mutta kaikki päättyy onnellisesti.

[Sammy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

7-year-old Kelsey’s favourite bit of the book was when Kangaroo gave the babies back to their mums!

[Nur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow Nurposhka is not a fan. She made me close the book halfway and then for good measure threw it. :/

[Ebony Mcarthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baa! Moo!! What Will We Do? A great children’s literature picture book by A.H. Benjamin and illustrated by Jane Chapman recommended for ages 3-7 years (Preschool-2). The new arrival of a kangaroo to the Buttercup Farm is causes anxiety and worry to many of the other farm animals. The other farm animals are afraid the kangaroo will take over their jobs on the farm and many of the animals had never seen or even heard of a kangaroo. After the animals discover that their jobs are safe and that the kangaroo will be the new baby minder they are all relieved. This story helps teach young people that they don’t have to always fear the unknown and it’s ok to welcome others who they may not be accustomed to. The book features thirty-two very large pages for handling and a bright and vibrant paperback cover. The inside illustration is full of color and life with lots of pictures of fun animals on each page. The illustrator is an award winning illustrator who works under the name Jane Chapman and her pseudonym Jack Tickle. She has illustrated more than seventy-five titles in twenty countries. Young readers will enjoy finding many of their site words throughout the story and imitating some of the funny animal sounds.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Rating: 4
2. A book review from a customer at Barnes and Noble said, "The animals down on Buttercup farm are feeling uneasy. There's a new animal coming to the farm... a kangaroo! The problem is none of the animals know what a kangaroo is, and so they dream up senarios whereby each of their places on the farm would be redundant... what if the kangaroo gave milk for instance? ... what would become of the cow? The farmyard residents get so caught up in their 'what if-ing' that they don't realize all the baby animals have wandered off. Just as panic sets in, and the search is underway who should come bounding over but the kangaroo? His special feature is then revealed... he's got a big pouch to carry babies in... and inside it are all the missing children of the farm animals!"
3. The illustrator did a great job depicting all the animals and I thought it would be easy for kids to pick out which animal is which throughout the book. I think teachers could make this an interactive book to get all the students involved by asking them what certain animals look like or "do." I also think the adjectives used are worth pointing out as they were very fun and in big, bold print!

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what kind of traditional American farm buys a kangaroo, but this one did and it turned the animals' lives inside out and upside down as they worried over being replaced by this mysterious new creature. I hate to get all political in one of these reviews, but I see correlations between this and the immigration issue here. I wonder if that was intended by the author. That seems like a heavy topic for a children's story, I know, but I just thought I'd throw it out there because that thought ran through my head as I read. This is a nice story. Not bad at all.

[Carol Royce Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the animals on the farm worry whether the kangaroo coming to the farm will take their place and do their jobs causing them to be unneeded. Is there a place on a farm for a kangaroo? See what they find out.

[Tanda Pena · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the farm animals are up in arms over the news that a new animal is due to arrive. The illustrations are really good and the repetition of the theme for each animal will help keep a child engaged.

[Cws]

JEPIC-Ben

[Rosie · Rating 2 out of 5]

cant get daniel into this book yet

[Jessica Nekuda · Rating 5 out of 5]

great story of acceptance!