From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2–Rodeo Ron and his four cows of various colors (red, yellow, blue, and green) ride into Cavity, a town of soda-slurping, mega-burping citizens who don't drink milk. Their brown teeth and gassy ways are the result of sipping the sugary concoctions made by Frothy and Fruity, the owners of the soda bar. Frothy challenges Ron to a shake-off with the town's children as taste-testers. While the brothers mix and shake their sodas, Ron leaps astride each of his cows in turn and, after riding the bucking, shaking bovines, proceeds to produce "the frothiest, fruitiest…milkshake anybody had ever tasted." Each cow produces a flavored beverage according to her color–banana, strawberry, blueberry, and the "creamiest, whitest milk you ever did see." The brothers lose each round until, in a frenzy of burping and bucking of their own, they explode, leaving nothing but their mustaches. The citizens reform in favor of milk, "the finest drink ever!" The playful color cartoon illustrations are surrounded by white space and depict roly-poly townsfolk and animals. The overlong text features plenty of repetition and flavor, but the didactic message slows the pace. While kids may get a kick out of all the belching, and the book might find use in units on nutrition or dental health, this story milks the slim plot for more than its worth.–
Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
K-Gr. 2. Saddle up, pardners! This exaggerated, undisguised comic ploy to encourage kids to drink milk may just do the trick. When Rodeo Ron rides into the town of Cavity on his red cow (trailed by a yellow, a blue, and a green cow), everybody has "dirty, brown stumps instead of bright, white smiles"; they also burp a lot thanks to the soda they always drink. Frothy and Fruity, the soda bartenders, challenge Ron to a shake-off to be judged by kids--milkshakes against soft drinks. As Ron sits on the red cow, it bucks, shivers, and shakes, making a frothy, fruity strawberry shake; the yellow cow makes banana; the blue makes blueberry. After the kids declare the shakes winners, Fruity and Frothy become so angry they burp themselves into a blowout. And what about the green cow? Why, it makes delicious, creamy white milk. This over-the-top delight will leave kids laughing as well as remembering the message, and the comical Howdy Doody-like illustrations play up the silliness. If this is used for story hour, be prepared for a burp-a-thon and requests for milk.
Julie CumminsCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
