From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 2–When Hilda Mae Heifer gets knocked on the noggin by a cow pie, she wakes up without her "moo." She meets a series of barnyard animals and tries imitating each one. They all tell her she's a cow and ask her questions to prove that she is not their kin, yet she is still "not convinced that mooing was what she should be doing." A cat finally gets her back to normal, and Hilda resumes her loud, off-key mooing, while "everyone else got earplugs." The lost-voice premise is not a new one, but Palatini's way with words and Graves's slightly manic artwork instill the characters and setting with freshness and humor. Strong rhythms, occasional rhymes ("You're no swine. You're bovine"), and a variety of puns ("Are your relatives big boars?") liven up the narrative. The illustrations are filled with purples, blues, and gray-greens, lending a fantastical aura to the farmyard world. The switch to white backgrounds when each creature quizzes the cow paces the tale neatly. Hilda's absurdly prominent purplish nostrils and her enthusiastically goofy facial expressions are right on target. The scholarly goose and the rest of the animal cast each have distinct looks. The vigorous energy of author and artist makes this otherwise basic tale a good choice for reading aloud, or for one-on-one sharing.–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more From Booklist PreS-Gr. 2. Palatini's tale of a cow suffering from an identity crisis is sheer entertainment from cover to cover. When Hilda the Heifer gets bonked on the noggin by a flying cow pie, she develops an ugly bump and amnesia. The ensuing story follows Hilda on her quest to find out just who she is, where she belongs, and exactly what sound she is supposed to emit. The author of Piggie Pie (1997), Moosetache (1995), and many others gets it exactly right with her dialogues between Hilda and the animals whose identities she tries to adopt. Children will revel in the giggle-inducing lists of each species' identifying characteristics, such as coughing up hairballs and laying eggs, as the mixed-up bovine stumbles her way to the realization that "mooing is what she should be doing." Laugh-out-loud details within Graves' illustrations--from Hilda's rumpled, postbump pompadour to the bottle of Hog Wash used by a very hygienic pig--are pure delight. Terry GloverCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Read more See all Editorial Reviews
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