MOO by Sharon Creech

Hello, and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Tricia at Miss Rumphius Effect for Roundup.

I've just finished MOO by Sharon Creech. I thought of my mother the entire time I was reading it -- because my mom was once a big-time prize-winning 4-H girl who, in addition to competing in the areas of sewing and public speaking, showed dairy and beef cows. Her favorite was a Jersey cow named Penny, who won her a GRAND CHAMPION prize. Here's a picture:





Penny & Mama (before she was a mama!)
And here's an excerpt from the book:

BEAUTY DAY

Animals need primping for the fair:
     shampoos
     clipping
     pedicures (hoof-i-cures?)

I am not kidding!

Zep declared Beauty Day for Zora and
Yolanda
     We lathered
     we scrubbed
     we rinsed
     we dried them with a blow-dryer.

I am not kidding!

     We clipped
     we combed
     we brushed.
     We cleaned and polished hooves.
 
You'll have to do it all again at the fair,
Zep said.
This is just round one: preparation.

It made us laugh.
     Beauty Day for the heifers!
They looked SO good when we were done!

And then Zora tromped through
a mud puddle
and lay down
and said
     Moo.

- Sharon Creech
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This poem also reminds me of all the ways  my sister and I would primp our ponies. We painted their hooves and dyed their manes and tails... we also braided and brushed and occasionally broke out the hair dryer. Fun!