Cindy Moo

HarperCollins

Rhyming Picture Book

Illustrated by Jeff Mack

ISBN-10: 0062043935

ISBN-13: 978-0062043931

One night on the farm, the cows overhear a

fantastic tale.

“Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon!”

Inspired by this classic rhyme, a plucky cow named Cindy Moo sets out to prove that cows really can leap over the moon.

The other cows laugh at her, but that doesn’t stop Cindy from trying—and failing—night after night . . . until a trick of nature shows Cindy a way to triumph.

As delightfully silly as the original nursery rhyme, this hilarious picture book will have readers of all stripes (and spots) cheering for its determined heroine.

[This book] . . . stands out for its clever

heroine who just won’t give up.

—Kirkus’ Reviews

As fresh as newly churned butter, this takeoff on "Hey Diddle Diddle" is mighty clever.  "Over at the Diddle farm / a little bit past eight, / the cows all heard a nursery rhyme / that caused a great debate." Upon hearing about this astonishing cow that leapt over the moon, the bovines are plenty dubious. Until Cindy Moo pipes up: "If that cow could jump the moon, by golly, I can too." Night after night, Cindy Moo gives it her best, but she always ends up a battered tangle of hooves. The following double-page spread is the book's most effective: Cindy, sad, watching as a hard rain washes the moon completely away--so much for her dream. Until, of course, she finds the moon: right there in a big puddle. Mortensen's rhymes syncopate the silliness while Mack's often in-your-face watercolors give the tale extra oomph with textured, fuzzy cowhides and exaggerated expressions. Mo(ooo)ve aside your other cow tales, because this lovable bovine really does take off.

—Booklist

A determined cow thinks outside the box to prove that she can jump over the moon in this bouncy barnyard rhyme. When Cindy Moo overhears the beloved nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle” and its line about a certain cow’s antics, she is not about to be outdone. “If that cow could jump the moon,/ by golly, I can too,” Cindy—who, despite being a cow, is a ham through and through—tells her skeptical fellow bovines. Two attempts prove discouraging, but the moon’s nighttime reflection in a rain puddle gives Cindy a new, successful strategy. Underneath its silliness, Mortensen’s (Come See the Earth Turn) energetic verse offers readers a can-do message about finding different ways of looking at a challenge. Mack’s (Mr. Duck Means Business) fuzzy cows have comically bulging eyes to observe all the action, and Cindy’s creamy brown-and-white spots, pink bow, and expressive poses set her apart as the star of the show. The nocturnal scenes are fittingly lit with a crisp, shimmery moon glow. Ages 3–7.

—Publishers Weekly