Moo

Week 5 Novel:
Moo
By: Sharon Creech
Published: 2016

This book just gets me. No, I cannot relate to tending for cows and livestock on a rundown farm owned by an old woman, but I can relate to the words. True to form, Sharon Creech has created a story that is not only entertaining and meaningful, but she also has crafted a story that you feel. Creech has a very distinctive way of writing. She always utilizes varying forms of typography to emphasize how the words "feel". 

It's almost as if you can feel the story 

d

       r

            i

                 p

                      p

                           i

                               n

                                    g

out of the pages and consuming you until you are forced to empathize with Reena and her little brother, Luke, as they rebuild their lives in Maine after moving cross country due to their Mom's new job. Reena and Luke were expecting a summer full of    l   a   z   y    days at the beach, stuffing themselves with lobster and blueberries. What they weren't expecting was was to fall in love with a temperamental cow named Zora. 

            ^__^
            (oo)_______
            (__)       )\/\
                ||----w |
                ||     || 

This book is definitely one that needs to be experiences first hand because the typography truly makes the story. 

While it can easily stand on it's own with its poetic prose, Moo really deserves to be felt. 

While Reena and Luke's living situation may not be the most relatable, their positivity towards moving to a new place is a great example that any child who is coping with being uprooted and relocated. This book should be required reading for students in the 3-5 grade range solely because it is such a unique way to look at story writing. Moo is bound to inspire young storytellers to think outside of the box about their writing. 

I know I have been using this idea a lot recently, but I hope to use this book as a book club option in my classroom. Simply reading this story aloud does not do it justice. Students need to read along and feel the story in order to gain the full experience. I give Moo 5 incredibly well earned stars for it's beautifully simple story that conjures up some not so simple feelings.