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Moo
Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog and Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. This uplifting tale reminds us that if we’re open to new experiences, life is full of surprises. Following one family’s momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.
When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.
This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.
When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.
This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 30, 2016
532 people are currently reading
6692 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Creech
70 books3,287 followersI was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of us Creeches, but also full of friends and visiting relatives.
In the summer, we usually took a trip, all of us piled in a car and heading out to Wisconsin or Michigan or, once, to Idaho. We must have been a very noisy bunch, and I'm not sure how our parents put up with being cooped up with us in the car for those trips. The five-day trip out to Idaho when I was twelve had a powerful effect on me: what a huge and amazing country! I had no idea then that thirty-some years later, I would recreate that trip in a book called Walk Two Moons.
One other place we often visited was Quincy, Kentucky, where my cousins lived (and still live) on a beautiful farm, with hills and trees and swimming hole and barn and hayloft. We were outside running in those hills all day long, and at night we'd gather on the porch where more stories would be told. I loved Quincy so much that it has found its way into many of my books—transformed into Bybanks, Kentucky. Bybanks appears in Walk Two Moons, Chasing Redbird, and Bloomability. Bybanks also makes a brief appearance (by reference, but not by name) in The Wanderer.
When I was young, I wanted to be many things when I grew up: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, a teacher, and a reporter. It soon became apparent that I had little drawing talent, very limited tolerance for falling on ice, and absolutely no ability to stay on key while singing. I also soon learned that I would make a terrible reporter because when I didn't like the facts, I changed them. It was in college, when I took literature and writing courses, that I became intrigued by story-telling. Later, I was a teacher (high school English and writing) in England and in Switzerland. While teaching great literature, I learned so much about writing: about what makes a story interesting and about techniques of plot and characterization and point of view. I started out writing novels for adults (published as Sharon Rigg): The Recital and Nickel Malley were both written and published while I was living in England (these books were published in England only and are now out of print.) But the next book was Absolutely Normal Chaos, and ever since that book I have written mainly about young people. Walk Two Moons was the first of my books to be published in America. When it received the Newbery Medal, no one was more surprised than I was. I'm still a little bit in shock.
After Walk Two Moons came Chasing Redbird, Pleasing the Ghost, Bloomability, The Wanderer, and Fishing in the Air. I hope to be writing stories for a long, long time.
I am married to Lyle Rigg, who is the headmaster of The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey, and have two grown children, Rob and Karin. Being with my family is what I enjoy most. The next-best thing is writing stories.
© Sharon Creech
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of us Creeches, but also full of friends and visiting relatives.
In the summer, we usually took a trip, all of us piled in a car and heading out to Wisconsin or Michigan or, once, to Idaho. We must have been a very noisy bunch, and I'm not sure how our parents put up with being cooped up with us in the car for those trips. The five-day trip out to Idaho when I was twelve had a powerful effect on me: what a huge and amazing country! I had no idea then that thirty-some years later, I would recreate that trip in a book called Walk Two Moons.
One other place we often visited was Quincy, Kentucky, where my cousins lived (and still live) on a beautiful farm, with hills and trees and swimming hole and barn and hayloft. We were outside running in those hills all day long, and at night we'd gather on the porch where more stories would be told. I loved Quincy so much that it has found its way into many of my books—transformed into Bybanks, Kentucky. Bybanks appears in Walk Two Moons, Chasing Redbird, and Bloomability. Bybanks also makes a brief appearance (by reference, but not by name) in The Wanderer.
When I was young, I wanted to be many things when I grew up: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, a teacher, and a reporter. It soon became apparent that I had little drawing talent, very limited tolerance for falling on ice, and absolutely no ability to stay on key while singing. I also soon learned that I would make a terrible reporter because when I didn't like the facts, I changed them. It was in college, when I took literature and writing courses, that I became intrigued by story-telling. Later, I was a teacher (high school English and writing) in England and in Switzerland. While teaching great literature, I learned so much about writing: about what makes a story interesting and about techniques of plot and characterization and point of view. I started out writing novels for adults (published as Sharon Rigg): The Recital and Nickel Malley were both written and published while I was living in England (these books were published in England only and are now out of print.) But the next book was Absolutely Normal Chaos, and ever since that book I have written mainly about young people. Walk Two Moons was the first of my books to be published in America. When it received the Newbery Medal, no one was more surprised than I was. I'm still a little bit in shock.
After Walk Two Moons came Chasing Redbird, Pleasing the Ghost, Bloomability, The Wanderer, and Fishing in the Air. I hope to be writing stories for a long, long time.
I am married to Lyle Rigg, who is the headmaster of The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey, and have two grown children, Rob and Karin. Being with my family is what I enjoy most. The next-best thing is writing stories.
© Sharon Creech
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,603 reviews
August 28, 2016
The story here is fine. I guess. Incredibly predictable and cliché, but there's nothing terrible about it. The characters are fairly stock with little development. There is definitely emotional manipulation at the end to tug on your heartstrings and make the book feel important. Yawn. The worst thing about this book is its atrocious formatting. It is a "blank verse" poetry novel, which is often used as a blanket way of covering all sorts of linguistic sins. This could be the textbook example of a book that didn't need to be blank verse, had no reason to be blank verse, but being blank verse made it easier to fill the required number of pages. The strange (and truly frustrating ) part of this is that I use the term "blank verse" VERY loosely. There are paragraphs of narrative prose inserted into the book will-nilly for no other seeming reason than "why not?". There will be a whole chapter that's all narrative followed by a chapter of verse. Or verse, random paragraph, more verse. There is no rhyme or logic to it and it serves no purpose.
September 3, 2016
***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato
Note that I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
THIS BOOK
The truth is that this book was
A M A Z I N G.
Displaced children are a common theme in a lot of
middle grade novels but this one was special.
And not just because it is Sharon
C
R
E
E
C
H
(although she really knows what she is doing)
Two children are taken out of their metropolitan setting and forced to
Adapt to a more rural one.
They are out of place, outside of their comfort zone
Yet they adapt. And they make friends
Animal friends
Human
F
R
I
E
N
D
S
And they grow as characters
As people
And transform.
There is s a d n e s s and heartbreak
and change but these kids come out on top and win your
HEARTS.
Note that I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
May 8, 2017
It all revolves around a cow. An ornery, wonderful cow that helps a girl find home, a woman find closure, a boy share a passion, and a family settle down. Fans of any Creech work, though especially Love that Dog, will love her word play and imagery in this novel in verse/vignettes.
December 27, 2017
As fellow reviewers have stated : the parts written in verse were probably better left out. I think I enjoyed this more because I listened to it instead of using a hard copy. Being able to hear the hard accents used and the voice of Reena gave it a better experience.
Did I think I would hear the word dung used so many times? no.
Did I think I would hear the word dung used so many times? no.
October 20, 2016
Delightful...I love Sharon Creech and I will be buying this for my elementary library.
Favorite verse from the book:
Sometimes I had to
close my eyes
to rest them from
all the new everythings
pouring in.
Favorite verse from the book:
Sometimes I had to
close my eyes
to rest them from
all the new everythings
pouring in.
May 7, 2023
just your typical cute story about a little cow!
May 22, 2016
Great story about change, neighbors, and finding strength in strange places.
Reena narrates this heartwarming story about one city family's move to rural Maine. There, Reena and her brother Luke are volunteered to an old woman who owns a few animals. Not knowing what to expect from this cranky woman, Reena and Luke come to love the farm and especially the stubborn cow, Zora. As they slowly get to know the older woman, they also learn what life on a farm entails. At the end of the story Reena reflects on what the past eighteen months has been like.
Told in verse and small paragraphs, this story will appeal to many, especially those who wonder "what if?"
Digital copy from Edelweiss / HarperCollins
Reena narrates this heartwarming story about one city family's move to rural Maine. There, Reena and her brother Luke are volunteered to an old woman who owns a few animals. Not knowing what to expect from this cranky woman, Reena and Luke come to love the farm and especially the stubborn cow, Zora. As they slowly get to know the older woman, they also learn what life on a farm entails. At the end of the story Reena reflects on what the past eighteen months has been like.
Told in verse and small paragraphs, this story will appeal to many, especially those who wonder "what if?"
Digital copy from Edelweiss / HarperCollins
April 14, 2023
Well, I started off really enjoying Creech's thematics and contents for her 2016 novel in verse Moo, as I was simply adoring how Reena's parents actually seem to listen to their daughter's suggestion to move the family to Maine when the question of where to relocate is being posed (so much different to when we moved from Germany to Canada when I was ten, since my siblings and I both had no say at all in the matter and that I was also repeatedly verbally chastised a and reprimanded when I dared to complain a bit and after the move had trouble adjusting and fitting in at school). But indeed, but sadly, as soon as Mrs. Falala makes her appearance in Moo, my original textual enjoyment of Moo (and that the family migrates from a large city to a small town in Maine willingly and not because they are being forced to) pretty well ended up fading into nothing, ended up disappearing into oblivion and leaving me angrily frustrated (and that this annoyance has very strongly remained throughout my perusal and to the point that I can and will now only consider but a two star rating for Moo).
Because honestly, both my adult self and even more so my inner child (and remembering how much I was bullied at school simply because I was German, had an accent and was "different" from my classmates) are simply and utterly furious with and also majorly offended by how Sharon Creech depicts Mrs. Falala in Moo, finding everything about her textual representation problematically stereotypical "Italian" (and in the worst possible manner as well), as someone loud, opinionated, cantankerous, holier than thou obnoxious, lacking any sense of respecting boundaries, basically a portrait of a typical, horribly caricature like and very personally uncomfortable depiction of an Italian grandmother and with the in my opinion artificial broken English Mrs. Falala is presented by Creech as speaking sounding ridiculing, paternalistic and as such also totally nasty. And yes, even if this might well be something unintentional, it ALL bothers me to no end and makes me textually unhappy, furious and even wanting to throw Moo across the room (but not being able to because I am reading Moo on Open Library and of course do not want to damage or to destroy my laptop).
Therefore and combined with some really problematic parenting choices being encountered in Moo (such as for example the parents sending their children alone to Mrs. Falala, to a stranger considered to be eccentric and problematic by the townspeople and then punishing Reena and her younger brother Luke for supposedly being disrespectful to an elder when they dare to fight back against Mrs. Falala harassing Luke about still sucking his thumb and trying to pull the his fingers out of his mouth) and that I also stylistically just do not enjoy how Sharon Creech (with the narrative voice of Reena) keeps misspelling words on purpose for emphasis in Moo (basically lengthening them by adding letters at the end), no, I really and truly have NOT enjoyed Moo after those first few pages, and that the ethnic stereotypical depiction of Italian American Mrs. Falala, yes, that really does make me want to scream (and to point my finger at Sharon Creech and say "stop it already").
Because honestly, both my adult self and even more so my inner child (and remembering how much I was bullied at school simply because I was German, had an accent and was "different" from my classmates) are simply and utterly furious with and also majorly offended by how Sharon Creech depicts Mrs. Falala in Moo, finding everything about her textual representation problematically stereotypical "Italian" (and in the worst possible manner as well), as someone loud, opinionated, cantankerous, holier than thou obnoxious, lacking any sense of respecting boundaries, basically a portrait of a typical, horribly caricature like and very personally uncomfortable depiction of an Italian grandmother and with the in my opinion artificial broken English Mrs. Falala is presented by Creech as speaking sounding ridiculing, paternalistic and as such also totally nasty. And yes, even if this might well be something unintentional, it ALL bothers me to no end and makes me textually unhappy, furious and even wanting to throw Moo across the room (but not being able to because I am reading Moo on Open Library and of course do not want to damage or to destroy my laptop).
Therefore and combined with some really problematic parenting choices being encountered in Moo (such as for example the parents sending their children alone to Mrs. Falala, to a stranger considered to be eccentric and problematic by the townspeople and then punishing Reena and her younger brother Luke for supposedly being disrespectful to an elder when they dare to fight back against Mrs. Falala harassing Luke about still sucking his thumb and trying to pull the his fingers out of his mouth) and that I also stylistically just do not enjoy how Sharon Creech (with the narrative voice of Reena) keeps misspelling words on purpose for emphasis in Moo (basically lengthening them by adding letters at the end), no, I really and truly have NOT enjoyed Moo after those first few pages, and that the ethnic stereotypical depiction of Italian American Mrs. Falala, yes, that really does make me want to scream (and to point my finger at Sharon Creech and say "stop it already").
February 11, 2018
3.5 stars. This was a very fast read, as it was partially written in verse. It tells the story of a 12 year old girl from the city whose family decides, almost on the spur of the moment to move to rural Maine. In that process her family befriends an eccentric old lady with a farm who lives nearby and both the girl's life, Mrs. Falala's life, and indeed the girl's whole family's life is changed as a result. It was at times, funny and touching too. If you're interested in cows as show animals, you might want to move this one up your TBR list.
3.5 stars too for the audio performance and six stars to my library for their subscription to Hoopla, which is an "always there" service for digital audiobooks, ebooks, music and movies. Very convenient and love the iPad app!
3.5 stars too for the audio performance and six stars to my library for their subscription to Hoopla, which is an "always there" service for digital audiobooks, ebooks, music and movies. Very convenient and love the iPad app!
September 10, 2023
A story set in Maine of a belted Galloway cow and an old lady told in verse is a recipe for success as far as I’m concerned.
July 5, 2022
City girl becomes a country girl when her family moves from the big city to Maine.
This one is perfect for those looking for a book that has 4-Hers and/or farm kids as characters. Or anyone asking for a story with a farm animal.
This one is perfect for those looking for a book that has 4-Hers and/or farm kids as characters. Or anyone asking for a story with a farm animal.
January 26, 2020
When I started reading this story, honestly thought that it would be boring. It took place in a small town in Maine so I had just assumed (Since our town is so boring). But it ended up being a very emotional story that was very MOOving. (Haha hilarious) The only thing that was confusing was the style of writing. It kind of skipped around a lot and I would just get messed up. But overall I liked it!
September 4, 2016
I've been looking forward to this newest Creech novel for some time. It didn't disappoint. Beautiful writing. The format was fresh and unique. I'll be looking at cows in a whole new way.
January 26, 2018
Merp.
Moves quickly, very predictable. Felt more attached to Zora the cow than the other characters.
Moves quickly, very predictable. Felt more attached to Zora the cow than the other characters.
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February 27, 2025
3.5 stars!
Honestly didn't expect much from this, but it definitely touched my heart
Honestly didn't expect much from this, but it definitely touched my heart
March 23, 2018
Again, too much random scatterings of words for me. It's a very light, easy read, but the plot just felt sort of overused by similar books and... not special, I suppose.
And now I just want to live in Maine even more and learn to speak like Zep.
And now I just want to live in Maine even more and learn to speak like Zep.
September 7, 2016
I wanted to like this, but I found it boring. It reminded me too much of Defiance. Both books are about a kid who meets an eccentric old lady with a cow. The old lady helps the kid see the world differently. Thanks, magical old lady! Thanks, cow!
I think the blank verse/concrete poetry/creative typography stuff will appeal to fans of, like, Geronimo Stilton? I wasn't impressed by it. It seemed somehow lazy for a writer as talented as Creech. Like, let's write "drip" like this:
d r i p
r
i
p
and, oh, isn't that cool, don't you just get what drips are like from the way the letters are spaced?
(Now I'm just being mean.)
So, if you want a children's novel in verse about how special cows are, I'd recommend Home of the Brave.
Apologies to Sharon Creech for the snark. I suppose this is a sweet book in it's way. I really do love Love That Dog and Walk Two Moons and recommend them all the time. Maybe I'll try reading MOO again sometime when I'm not feeling pressure to come up with brilliant Mock Newbery picks.
I think the blank verse/concrete poetry/creative typography stuff will appeal to fans of, like, Geronimo Stilton? I wasn't impressed by it. It seemed somehow lazy for a writer as talented as Creech. Like, let's write "drip" like this:
d r i p
r
i
p
and, oh, isn't that cool, don't you just get what drips are like from the way the letters are spaced?
(Now I'm just being mean.)
So, if you want a children's novel in verse about how special cows are, I'd recommend Home of the Brave.
Apologies to Sharon Creech for the snark. I suppose this is a sweet book in it's way. I really do love Love That Dog and Walk Two Moons and recommend them all the time. Maybe I'll try reading MOO again sometime when I'm not feeling pressure to come up with brilliant Mock Newbery picks.
September 11, 2016
In elementary school Sharon Creech was one of my favorite authors and, to put it simply, she's still got it. MOO is a sweet story about a young girl whose family leaves the big city, relocating to Maine. Before she's even had a chance to settle in, Reena's parents have promised their grumpy, elderly neighbor that Reena and her brother will help volunteer three days a week, doing chores. Despite Reena protests, she of course comes to love the farm, her neighbor, and participating in the local fair.
January 17, 2019
Sharon Creech has a wonderful way of writing about animals and the people in their orbit. The primary animal in Moo is, of course, cows. When a city girl (Reena) and her family relocate to a small town in Maine, she gets a crash course in farm animals. Her mom volunteers their services to a neighbor and they are soon learning about show cows and taking care of them. This novel has a delightful sense of place and I loved reading the author's lyrical prose. You definitely need to read this one in print form to enjoy Creech's way with words.
September 19, 2024
Some of Newbery Medalist Sharon Creech's signature novels are in verse, so fans were excited at the release of Moo in 2016. Could she recapture the magic of Love That Dog or Heartbeat? Reena, a twelve-year-old living in a major metropolis, listens to her mom and dad one day discuss the future. Do they enjoy their jobs? Are they sure about staying in the city? When Reena pipes up and suggests moving to Maine, the idea...just clicks with the whole family, including her seven-year-old brother Luke. They move to a house in a cozy corner of Maine where farmland and lush quiet dominate. Reena likes her choice so far.
Reena and Luke can walk or bike anywhere they wish; there are few cars roaring by, or strangers who may be violent. Reena is curious about Beat and Zep, a girl and boy a few years older than she who live on a nearby farm, but Reena's mom forms a quick friendship with an older lady named Mrs. Falala who lives in a big house where flute music wafts from the attic window. When Reena and Luke meet Mrs. Falala, the woman seems strange; her voice is sweet as honeycomb but her words can be like jagged glass. Reena's mom and dad are disappointed that more than once Mrs. Falala reports the kids were "disrespectful" to her, and though Reena vehemently disagrees with that, their parents assign them to work at Mrs. Falala's helping care for her farm animals.
Zora, Mrs. Falala's Belted Galloway cow and supposed heir in a long line of show champions, is as eccentric and easily riled as the old woman. Zora aggressively chases Reena and Luke in the pasture. It's a long time before Zora allows Reena a few petting strokes across her broad head. As Reena slowly enters Zora's graces, Mrs. Falala notices Luke's talent at drawing, and asks for lessons. Her knotty hands aren't nimble as Luke's, but she tries hard. Meanwhile, Beat and Zep from the other farm help Reena with Zora, and Mrs. Falala says she wants Reena to enter Zora in some show competitions. Would winning ribbons soothe Mrs. Falala's irascible personality? Life in the country has its challenges, and friends like Zora and Mrs. Falala are a wild ride, but these experiences are teaching Reena what it means to be human...a good, helpful one, at that.
The emotional notes are all present for a children's classic. I'm not sold on the book's style; verse can be the perfect way to express a story, but Moo feels herky-jerky. Read aloud, I imagine it would be even more awkward. The narrative moves so rapidly that I never felt as connected to Mrs. Falala as I think we're supposed to. I rate Moo two and a half stars; by no means is the book bad, but I see it as a missed opportunity.
Reena and Luke can walk or bike anywhere they wish; there are few cars roaring by, or strangers who may be violent. Reena is curious about Beat and Zep, a girl and boy a few years older than she who live on a nearby farm, but Reena's mom forms a quick friendship with an older lady named Mrs. Falala who lives in a big house where flute music wafts from the attic window. When Reena and Luke meet Mrs. Falala, the woman seems strange; her voice is sweet as honeycomb but her words can be like jagged glass. Reena's mom and dad are disappointed that more than once Mrs. Falala reports the kids were "disrespectful" to her, and though Reena vehemently disagrees with that, their parents assign them to work at Mrs. Falala's helping care for her farm animals.
Zora, Mrs. Falala's Belted Galloway cow and supposed heir in a long line of show champions, is as eccentric and easily riled as the old woman. Zora aggressively chases Reena and Luke in the pasture. It's a long time before Zora allows Reena a few petting strokes across her broad head. As Reena slowly enters Zora's graces, Mrs. Falala notices Luke's talent at drawing, and asks for lessons. Her knotty hands aren't nimble as Luke's, but she tries hard. Meanwhile, Beat and Zep from the other farm help Reena with Zora, and Mrs. Falala says she wants Reena to enter Zora in some show competitions. Would winning ribbons soothe Mrs. Falala's irascible personality? Life in the country has its challenges, and friends like Zora and Mrs. Falala are a wild ride, but these experiences are teaching Reena what it means to be human...a good, helpful one, at that.
The emotional notes are all present for a children's classic. I'm not sold on the book's style; verse can be the perfect way to express a story, but Moo feels herky-jerky. Read aloud, I imagine it would be even more awkward. The narrative moves so rapidly that I never felt as connected to Mrs. Falala as I think we're supposed to. I rate Moo two and a half stars; by no means is the book bad, but I see it as a missed opportunity.
September 2, 2018
How do you fall in love with a black and white cow? Why, read *Moo* by Sharon Creech, of course! Reena’s family dares greatly to uproot from the city to move to the countryside in Maine, where they meet an eccentric old lady named Mrs. Falala at her farm. Reena and her little brother Luke are asked to help her tend to her animals, against their free will, as she seems both odd and rude at the same time. They get to know Mrs. Falala and Zora, the stubborn, defiant cow, and unlikely friendships ensue.
This novel is written in creative form, blending both prose and verse, traditional and concrete poetry alike. It makes for a powerful study of character change and figurative language. It also explores friendships, loss, the joy and sadness of the unexpected, and an amazing bond between humans and animals. This is a delightful read for upper elementary to early middle schoolers.
This novel is written in creative form, blending both prose and verse, traditional and concrete poetry alike. It makes for a powerful study of character change and figurative language. It also explores friendships, loss, the joy and sadness of the unexpected, and an amazing bond between humans and animals. This is a delightful read for upper elementary to early middle schoolers.
November 15, 2017
I liked this simple novel in verse the more and more I read of it. Twelve-year-old Reena and her family move from New York City to a seaside house in Maine, and experience the culture shock/pleasures of a semi-rural and slower-paced life. They're coerced into helping an old Italian lady, Mrs. Falala, tend to the animals on her farm, and to prepare her cow, Zora, to be shown at the local fair. The relationship between Mrs. Falala and the children grows closer as they get to know each other. I love how the story describes the transformation of the two children from reluctant farm hands to enthusiastic lovers of the farm life. I learned a few things about cows here that I'd never known. I'd never heard of the Belted Galloway breed of cow, nor do I think I've ever seen one. Had to look up a picture of one on the internet. I always thought of cows as gentle creatures, but I guess they can be ornery too. I like how Creech also introduced the idea of vegetarianism when the children learn that hamburger comes from cows. The horror of it! I didn't expect the way the story ended, both happy and sad. Upper elementary and middle school readers should enjoy this, especially if they come from rural areas or from Maine. Recommended!
March 28, 2022
this was really sweet and i loved the ending
July 25, 2018
This is a charming story and a really quick read. A "fish out of water" story with good characters, dialect, and cows. Having spent my teen years living on a dairy and hog farm, I was able to identify with the situation, and I also grew to love cows and the whole livestock-showing world. That's not the main focus of this story, though. Inter-generational relationships are not as common in our world as they used to be, and former city-dwellers recently transplanted to Maine struggle with getting along with spunky old Mrs. Falala. There is more to Moo than meets the eye.
July 4, 2016
Sharon Creech fans will not be disappointed in this humorous & "moo-ving" story. Creech is a masterful & lyrical writer that tells the story of a family's move to Maine. They must overcome new challenges such as adapting to small town life & training of an ornery cow. Perfect middle grade read for fans of Love that Dog! I did find the story a little long & was thankful for the white-space to help break up the story!
November 29, 2017
This was my first verse novel and I actually really liked it. It's about a girl, Reena, and her brother Luke, whose family moves to Maine from New York City. Although it's a very different style of writing, I was able to get a feel for how Reena (the protagonist) felt. Verse gives a different feel to the book and can often be more expressive and paint a more vivid picture than prose.
January 8, 2021
So Good finally finished!
July 5, 2019
That was cute. :) I want to go to Maine and have cow friends.
January 11, 2019
Reena's family makes a massive life-change by moving from the big city to a small town in Maine. Over the summer, Reena and her little brother Luke help (crazy) old Mrs. Falala with her (bizarre) animals. Charging pigs and shoveling dung. Lonely moos and blow-drying belties. Farm boys and fairgrounds and flutes. And the trauma of realizing where hamburger comes from.
A mix of prose and short-burst poetry, capturing the emotion of many scenes in order to paint them. Much sibling love and family closeness. Reminders that learning something new can happen at any age. Touches on death as a part of life.
A mix of prose and short-burst poetry, capturing the emotion of many scenes in order to paint them. Much sibling love and family closeness. Reminders that learning something new can happen at any age. Touches on death as a part of life.
November 28, 2018
In this book, I liked how the author used a different format than what most authors use. When something happens in the book the author makes it look like what is happening with her words. It's hard to explain. But anyways, the book actually was pretty short and there wasn't a lot of detail in this book but it was still fun to read.
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