Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!: Barnyard Hullabaloo

Publishers Weekly

Giles Andraea and David Wojtowycz, the team behind Rumble in the Jungle and Commotion in the Ocean, now focus on farm animals in Cock-a-Doodle-Doo! Barnyard Hullabaloo. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

Rollicking rhythms and rhymes in this collection of verses introduce the child to all types of barnyard animals. The morning scene includes snorting, cock-a-doodle-dooing, barking, stomping, bleating, and mooing. Invited to jump on a tractor, we explore the farm close up until late at night as each animal has its own say in a short poem. The rooster rocks, the chickens lay eggs, the cow moos and chews, the sheepdog is faithful, the cat sleeps with one eye open, the pig takes care of its wriggling and snuffling piglets, the donkey sniffs flowers, the turkey gobbles and wobbles, the geese babble and cackle, the sheep skips in a cloud of fleece, the goat chuckles into its beard, the horse munches hay, the bull snorts and scrapes, the fox creeps, and finally the owl searches for prey. At the end, all of the animals turn in for the night. The illustrations in the large picture book are child-centered. They are simple and endearing with impressive two-page spreads of some animals, including a somewhat scary bull. The slinking fox and the cross-eyed owl are also a bit frightening, but this is nothing a curious child would really object to at story time. 2002 (orig. 1999), Tiger Tales,
— Carol Raker Collins

School Library Journal

PreS-K-This bright, inviting book introduces a farm's inhabitants. The first spread shows the barnyard from outside the fence, with all the animals that live inside. Then, the pigs, donkey, ducks, and geese and others all introduce themselves through a lively, rhyming, first-person verse and an illustration full of movement and color. The visit ends as night falls, but not before readers meet the nighttime animals. A final two-page spread takes children back outside the fence as the rural denizens go to sleep and the fox sneaks off to hunt prey. Sound words are scattered on some of the pages, a device that might prove somewhat confusing to very young listeners. "Wag! Wag!" appears next to the dog's tail, rather than the sound the animal makes. "Wriggle" and "snuffle" appear for the pigs even though every three-year-old knows a pig says, "oink." And geese are supposed to "honk," not "cackle" or "squawk." Still, these are minor flaws that do not overwhelm the book's many virtues. It has a lively read-aloud text and the clearly drawn, easily identified animals are filled with personality.-Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|