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Summary
Summary
Minnie and Moo are back in two new tales, the latest in the series that the Bulletin of the Center for ChildrenÕs Books called Òthe cream of the beginning-reader crop.Ó In Minnie and Moo and the Thanksgiving Tree, Minnie and Moo vow to protect their two turkey friends, Zeke and Zack, from the farmer and his wife on the seasonÕs high-risk holiday. Zeke and Zack, however, have a few friends of their ownÉrelatives, thirty-six of them. Hiding them in the old oak tree is one thingÉhiding the chickens, the ducks, the geese, the pigs, the sheep, the Holsteins, and an ostrich is anotherÉand another, and another, andÉ
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-2-Minnie and Moo, those cream-puff eating cows, are back with another misadventure. The turkeys are nervous on Thanksgiving morning, and the cows send them to hide in a tall oak tree. Next, the chickens worry about what will happen if the farmer can't find the turkeys, and so on and on until all of the farm's livestock are hiding among its branches. The animals needn't worry, though, for Mrs. Farmer has prepared a tofu loaf in the shape of a turkey, and the family and their guests settle down for a Thanksgiving picnic beneath this tree. Newly independent readers will appreciate the large print, four or five sentences per page, and four-page "chapters." As in Cazet's earlier titles about this bovine pair, silliness reigns supreme in the illustrations and in the far-fetched plot.-Sharon R. Pearce, Geronimo Public School, OK (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Far from being let out to pasture, Minnie and Moo, from Minnie and Moo Go to the Moon (rev. 9/98), are back in two noodlehead stories beefed up with appropriately grandiose exaggeration. In Thanksgiving Tree, Moo comments: ""We have so much to be thankful for-and yet I feel a sadness in the air."" All the edible farm animals ditto this sentiment as first the turkeys and then the chickens, the rooster, a duck, six geese, two pigs, a flock of sheep, the ostrich, and the two Holsteins ask the cow ""girls"" to hide them in the branches of their old oak tree. But the animals' worries about their position in the food chain are unfounded. The farmer's wife prepares tofu turkey for a Thanksgiving picnic, to be held under the shade of the hiding tree. After this build-up, there's no surprise at the resulting ruckus as animal after animal tumble down, leaving Minnie and Moo to enjoy their friendship among the branches. Without an ounce of condescension toward his audience of beginning readers, Cazet delivers his slapstick in eight rapid-fire chapters filled with verbal wordplay (""What is tofu?"" asks one of the Thanksgiving guests. ""'Mashed bean crud,' said the farmer. 'Curd,' said the farmer's wife""). Fans reading The Musk of Zorro will immediately know that trouble is on its way when Moo confesses to doing a little reading and a little thinking. She bemoans her pointless life and believes she and Minnie should do good deeds. Although Minnie states that a gallon a day is certainly their fair share, she agrees to don a Zorro costume and battle evil. This more convoluted tale relies on the visual lunacy of the two costumed cows cavorting all over the farm to carry the action, as the story acts as a mere shell for showcasing the ensuing barnyard romp. b.c. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr.1^-2, younger for reading aloud. Those intrepid cows, Minnie and Moo, are back. Moo is waxing philosophical ("We have so much to be thankful for, yet I feel sadness in the air . . .") when the turkeys interrupt her. They know it's Thanksgiving, and they need to hide. No sooner do Minnie and Moo manage to get them up a tree than the chickens appear--they're next on the food chain. So chickens, pigs, and two other cows all wind up out on a limb. The farmer's family (vegetarians bringing a tofu turkey), can't help noticing food falling from the tree--eggs, and milk, and finally, a pig. But it seems there are also bees in the tree, causing a mass exodus that leaves Minnie and Moo once again pondering the poignancy of the season. Minnie and Moo are two prime specimens, and it's always fun to see how much madness Cazet can pack into an easy reader. Here, the answer is lots. The cumulative tale gets more wry and spry by the page. The watercolors, featuring frantic turkeys, clucking chickens, and bemused bovines, could have been larger in some cases, but at their best, they provide a cornucopia of laughs. --Ilene Cooper
