We've all heard that the "pen is mightier than the sword" and "the squeaky wheel gets the grease," well in Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, Farmer Brown learns firsthand just how true these adages are when his cows find a typewriter in the barn and demand better treatment.
When Farmer Brown first hears the click-clack sounds coming from the barn, he tries digging out the wax buildup in his ears because cows can't type!
But these cows can, and they nail their demands on the barn wall:
Dear Farmer Brown,
The barn is very cold at night. We'd like some electric blankets.
Sincerely,
The Cows
Farmer Brown will not give in to their demands, so they go on strike and withhold their milk. It's not long before the hens feel the chill in the barn and join the strike.
This puts Farmer Brown in a tizzy because every fool knows you can't run a farm with no milk and no aiggs! So he dusts off his own typewriter and bangs out a letter reminding the cows and hens that they are animals and he demands that they produce for him.
Eventually the two sides come to an agreement, and peace returns to the farm. That is until Duck feels empowered to make his own demands known. Seems what the boring pond has always needed is a diving board.
Click, Clack, Moo rightly received a Caldecott Award in 2001 and was named one of the Best Children's Book by Publisher's Weekly.