An uplifting and joyful story about the big impact someone can have on your life in a short amount of time, Moo by Sharon Creech will have readers rooting for the crankiest cow they’ve ever met.
Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog and Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. This uplifting tale reminds us that if we’re open to new experiences, life is full of surprises. Following one family’s momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.
When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.
This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.
More than anything, Moo felt to me like a story about possibility. How saying yes, or trying something new, or meeting a certain person, or any other number of seemingly small things can make a big impact on your life and the direction it takes. For Reena, her family’s move to Maine does not go how she imagined it — but once she begins accepting the new, surprising, and unexpected twists that come her way, she finds herself discovering wonderful new things, both about herself and about her new world.
Beautifully blending poetry and prose, Creech’s writing really captures the essence of Reena’s emotions and the heart of each character (both human and animal alike). I loved how sometimes such simple words could be used to evoke such complicated feelings; it’s all really quite lovely.
Moo is the kind of book that is equal parts hopeful and sad and funny and beautiful; it captures the messy mixture that is life, and gives readers a little slice of Reena’s world to experience, reflect upon, and cherish. Moo is in stores August 30th.
Novel Novice 
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