Moo-Cows Doo-Wop, Duck Rocks On: Dooby Dooby Moo

Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin have another hit on the charts. Dooby Dooby Moo, the latest sequel to the series that began with the Caldecott Honor book, Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type, brings back those keyboarding cows, barnyard entrepreneur Duck, and the usual suspects, sheep and pigs, this time with a venture into show biz at the County Fair.

When Farmer Brown finds an article clipped from his Daily Post, he just knows his barnyard buddies are up to something again. Surveillance yields nothing except the sounds of farm animals snoring through the night, but beneath the farmer's radar, the animals are busy rehearsing for the talent show at the fair. Cows sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" which comes out

Dooby dooby dooby moo.
Dooby moo moo moo moo moo.

Sheep rehearse "Home on the Range," and the pigs attempt an interpretive dance which leaves Duck snoring with a "Whacka whacka quaaack..."

Although his spying turns up only sounds of animals snoozing, Farmer Brown is so suspicious of his stock that he loads them up in the pickup headed for the fair so he can keep an eye on them. When free barbecue calls, however, Farmer Brown leaves the animals alone for a while, and then... IT'S SHOW TIME!
The cows and sheep have their turn in the spotlight, to mixed reviews, and the pigs' performance tanks when the pooped-out troupe fall asleep awaiting their cue. Duck, however, rises to the occasion to belt out a winning quacky cover of "Born to Be Wild:"

Quack, quack, quack, Quuuaaaaaackk!

After a standing ovation from the judges, Duck claims his prize (a slightly used trampoline) and the stock are back snoozing innocently in the pickup when Farmer Brown returns from the barbecue bash. Still, Farmer Brown can't quite figure out what the nightly "Boing, Boing, Boing," coming from the barn can possibly be!

The work of Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin is an example of a perfect marriage of text and illustrations. The fat black line and watercolor drawings depict with bold strokes the humor of the clueless farmer and the cheerily clever Duck and his followers, while Cronin's broad humor and sly footnotes appeal both to listening kids and to the adult readers, who will particularly enjoy the asterisked disclaimer with the first prize trampoline which Duck takes home.

Other not-to-be missed books in this group are Giggle Giggle Quack and Duck for President.