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Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration - Book Seventy-Nine

If you have not yet met Farmer Brown and his precocious farm animals, then you are in for a treat today. Allow me to introduce Farmer Brown, Duck, and the rest of the animals on the farm. Farmer Brown no doubt wishes that his animals would behave like normal farm animals, but they don't. In fact they are very unusual indeed.

Thump, Quack, Moo: A Whacky AdventureThump, Quack, Moo
Doreen Cronin
Illustrated by Betsy Lewin
Picture Book
Ages 4 to 6
Simon and Schuster, 2008, 978-1-4169-1630-7
   Farmer Brown is very excited because soon it will be time for the annual Corn Maze Festival, and he has big plans for his corn maze. The chickens are helping Farmer Brown by putting up a fence around the field, and the cows are helping to paint the barn. Duck doesn’t want to have anything to do with the project, but when Farmer Brown threatens not to get any more “special-order organic duck feed,” Duck has no choice. He too starts to help Farmer Brown by building the ticket booth for the hot-air balloon ride. The chickens and cows are excited about the project, but Duck is not.
   Every day Farmer Brown works on the maze, sketching, measuring, counting, and cutting. Every night Duck makes his own little adjustments to the maze. He too sketches, measures, counts, and cuts. Of course, Duck uses a glow-in-the-dark ruler, and night-vision goggles. It is clear that Duck is up to something, and Farmer Brown has no clue as to what is going on.
   Once again, Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin bring us a hilarious farmyard tale that has a delicious ending. We almost feel sorry for Farmer Brown. Clearly is doesn’t pay to cross a group of creative farm animals. 
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