Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
At first glance, cartoonist Diffee's children's book debut appears to be a slightly dusty farmyard tale featuring oversize serif typography, elegant wax and colored pencil illustrations in burnished hues, and predictable animals making familiar sounds ("The cow says, 'Moo.' The horse says, 'Neigh.' "). But when a goat pauses after the sheep's "baa," noting that the two share a manner of communicating, the story begins to gleefully and irreverently unravel. Pressed to come up with a noise that no one else emits, the sheep finally lands on a doozey: "Zip Zap Big Bang Flip Flap Wing Wickety Wack Walla Balla Yackety Yack Ding Dilly!" Then a tiny flying saucer appears, piloted by an extraterrestrial who begs to differ. The alien launches into a sermonette on the values of "wiffling" (also known as sharing), but the being's platitudes quickly deflate when the animals show interest in sharing the spaceship. The alien's selfishness makes the barnyard animals feel empathetic by comparison, and an amusing kind of logic brings humor to the book's peaceful conclusion. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--Diffee offers a book that will delight children and caregivers alike. Readers meet a group of farm animals who introduce themselves by the sounds they make (cow goes "moo," horse goes "neigh"). Trouble arrives when both sheep and goat want to claim "baa." Discussions of new sounds prove fruitless when the goat quickly states that it will "quack," an infuriated duck arrives on the scene. A roaming alien insists that they also make the new sound and chaos begins. The bold and clear font emphasizes the text; the animals look at one another while speaking and the tiny nuances in their expressions are ones worth searching for. VERDICT Working well as both a read-aloud and for one-to-one experiences, this purchase is for collections needing wry humor and a funny treat for all to enjoy.--Maria Graybosch
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
InNew Yorker cartoonist Diffee's children's book debut, animals unite after a barnyard spat draws an unusual mediator. "The cow says 'Moo.' The horse says 'Neigh.'" But what begins like a primer takes a quick turn when "the sheep says, 'Baa'" and the goat also claims the sound as its own. No matter that the sheep said it first--"I've said baa since I was a kid," retorts the indignant goat. The dog offers a diplomatic solution that just generates more drama as the barnyard animals become understandably possessive about their signature sounds. The sheep decides to "think of something that no one has ever said" and, after much pondering (and a little pooping), proudly lands on an extended version of the wacky titular catchphrase. "No one says that, right?" Wrong. A pint-size pink alien whizzes in to claim the phrase and suggests a civil compromise--though, as it turns out, the extraterrestrial can't quite practice what he preaches. Wax and pleasingly shaded colored pencil art on tawny pages features deftly expressive animals in otherwise spare, earnestly pastoral scenes that contrast with the wryly funny plot. The characters' nonchalant rapport is well conveyed, with text rendered in a clean serif font of varying scale for added visual oomph. Clever humor and a fresh take on a seemingly familiar scene make this a widely appealing, expertly paced, and wonderfully silly read-aloud. Unexpected and delightfully absurd.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
