Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 1^-2, younger for reading aloud. Bovine best friends Minnie and Moo are back in this very funny adventure in which they masquerade as Zorro to set things right on the farm. Cazet's expressive, wonderfully detailed watercolor-and-pencil illustrations depict the hilarious exploits of Juanita del Zorro del Moo and her sidekick Dolores del Zorro del Minnie. Decked out in black boots, masks, and hats, the cows attack the rooster (whom they think is a fox), leaving him with a pink Z on his chest and reeling from the musk of Zorro (aerosol deodorant generously sprayed by Minnie). Equally funny is the scene in which they attack the farmer's long underwear hanging on the clothesline because they believe it to be two bad guys. Kids will delight in the antics of this crazy twosome, and beginning readers will appreciate the generously illustrated, short chapters, the large type, and easy vocabulary. --Lauren Peterson
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Denys Cazet's delightful bovine duo, Minnie and Moo entertain young readers with yet another adventure (DK, 2000). After reading a book about Zorro, Moo decides that there are just not enough heroes in the world. She convinces Minnie to join her as they don disguises and become the heroes Juanita del Zorro del Moo and Delores del Zorro del Minnie. Together with their lipstick-tipped sword and aerosol can of musk, they set out to save the chickens from the fox and the farmer from the bad guys. Things aren't quite what they seem as the heroes encounter a rooster and some scary underwear! Barbara Caruso's narration seems a bit stilted at first but smoothes out quickly as she finds her rhythm. Caruso uses a distinctly different voice for each character. Background noises such as chickens in the barnyard are effective, and music adds dramatic touches throughout the story. The cassette has page-turn signals, but occasionally a background sound resembles the cue which may confuse beginning readers. An enjoyable choice for individual reading.-Betty L. Pittman, Hackett Elementary School, AR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by 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.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Cazet has struck a vein of precious ore in his Minnie and Moo series for beginning readers. These are simple books, but have a distinct, eccentric narrative that displays gumption, decency, and dreams on the cows part. The stories are also funny, accompanied by dry, witty artwork and a hint of naughtiness that refuses to swim into focus. Here, Moo sighs wistfully over the lack of heroes in the modern world. You have been reading again, havent you? demands her boon companion Minnie, neatly investing the act of reading with all the subversiveness it deserves. Moo points to Zorro as a role model: Most days he just hung around. But on some days, he dressed in black and scared away the bad guys with a sword. Moos enthusiasm is infectious and soon she and Minnie are dressing up as a pair of cow Zorros, complete with a sword tipped with a discarded tube of lipstick and a can of deodorant: The Musk of Zorro. They sally forth to do some good deeds around the farm. They liberate the chickens from the opportunings of the rooster; they neutralize two pair of the farmers long underwear flapping on the clothesline. This sparks some high farce between the farmer and his wife, who wants to know how the letters P U got written in lipstick on the long johns. She thinks its a vindictive neighbor. The farmer notes, I thinks its those two cows on the hill. A delightful, clean, and spare story brimming with comedy, typeset so that it can be read like free verse, such as this existential item: Are we all just cows/waiting to get hooked up/to the electric milker? (Easy reader. 6-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
