9 /10 1 Votes
4.7/5 Barnes & Noble Country United States Publisher Simon & Schuster Pages 32 Illustrator Betsy Lewin | 4.2/5 Goodreads Cover artist Betsy Lewin Language English Publication date 2000 Originally published 2000 Followed by Giggle, Giggle, Quack Awards Caldecott Medal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Genres Picture book, Children's literature Similar Doreen Cronin books, Click - Clack Series books, Picture books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is an award-winning children's book by Doreen Cronin. Illustrated by Betsy Lewin, the Simon & Schuster book tells the story of Farmer Brown's cows, who find an old typewriter in the barn and proceed to write letters to Farmer Brown, listing various demands.
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type was a 2001 Caldecott Honor book. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." It was one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal.
Plot
Farmer Brown has a problem. He starts to hear typing sounds coming from his barn. He soon finds out that cows have found an old typewriter in the barn, and are using it to type notes requesting things from Farmer Brown such as electric blankets to keep them warm at night. Farmer Brown refuses, so the cows, who are willing to withhold their milk until they get what they ask for, go on strike. Soon, the hens type a similar note asking for electric blankets as well, and after Farmer Brown furiously refuses to provide them, the hens go on strike as well and refuse to lay eggs. Farmer Brown realizes this makes it impossible to run a farm. In a furious attempt to re-establish normalcy, he uses another typewriter to send a note back to the cows, declaring they do not need the things they are asking for and that their job is to produce milk and eggs so he can run his farm. The cows hold an emergency meeting, at the end of which they seemingly come to a resolution. They promise the farmer that if he gives them electric blankets, they will give up their typewriter. A duck who acts as a neutral party agrees to deliver the typewriter when the cows have received the electric blankets. Farmer Brown decides the deal is fair, so he leaves electric blankets for the cows and waits for the duck to deliver the typewriter. Instead, the ducks send him a note which states that their pond is boring and they would like a diving board, at which point the story ends.