Baby Says "Moo!"

by JoAnn Early Macken, David Walker (Illustrations)

Ask Baby what people say, what dogs say, what horses say, or what birds say, and Baby has only one answer: "MOO!" Ride along with Baby and family from the busy, dizzy city to the quiet countryside as Baby learns all about animal sounds in this padded board book, just right for the youngest reader.
Praise for Baby Says "Moo!" (hardcover edition)

"Sure to satisfy young toddlers with one-on-one reading and entertain preschoolers in an interactive storytime."
-Kirkus Reviews

"[K]ids should get a kick out of contributing their own hearty 'Moo!' on cue. Walker's winsome acrylic illustrations are right in synch with the sunny silliness, portraying a world full of baby-loving animals and cheery, pastel-colored stimuli."
-Publishers Weekly

"[A] fun outing for the whole family."
-Booklist

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Family

30 pages, Board Book

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

JoAnn Early Macken is the author of six picture books, including Grow, Baby Says “Moo!”, Waiting Out the Storm, and Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move, and more than one hundred educational books for children. Her poems appear in many children’s magazines and anthologies, including Hop to It! Poems to Get You Moving and the Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. Her poetry instruction guide Write a Poem Step by Step is based on her workshops.

JoAnn earned her M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has taught graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education writing courses at four Wisconsin colleges. She presents writing workshops for writers of all ages.

JoAnn lives in Shorewood, Wisconsin. Visit her web site at www.joannmacken.com.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit long for very young children

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book to read to a baby or small child. It teaches them what sounds animals make.

[Ryan and Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adorable book for babies and younger toddlers.

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful book with colorful, cheerful, uncomplicated illustrations, catchy rhyme, and just the right amount of repetition. When Baby is asked what people, a bird, a cat, a horse, and other animals say, Baby always replies, "Moo!" Mother and Father attempt to set Baby straight by replying,

"A horse says moo?
I have to say
everybody knows that
a horse says neigh."

But Baby, clutching its spotted cow toy, insists on replying "Moo!" to every question. A fun book to read to toddlers.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am looking forward to using this in baby storytime, but I wish it were just a little shorter for that purpose. Other than that, I do like how the verse recaps each animal & sound. Since I spend so much time with very young toddlers, I appreciate that the ending is so straightforward (Baby says Moo!) and not some cute twist. I like that the book gives the baby a chance to say Moo to a real cow after all the other "No baby" pages.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for book babies storytime or home with Conner. His copy was a gift from the home visit nurse from the great expectations program.

[Alison Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both my kids really enjoyed this book when they were around 18months-2years old. Its very rhythmic which makes it fun to read aloud. It has a simple humor that even little ones seem to understand and I suspect they are proud to know more animal sounds than the baby in the book. Haha. The pictures are bright and cute - perfect for the very young.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virtual Story Time
Theme: Babies and Animals (Started out as Baby Animals)

Ages: "family"

Since it was a virtual storytime, I don't have how the kids responded to this.

But I loved it! Parents are taking their baby around town and all baby wants to say is Moo! People don't say moo, dogs don't say moo, etc. It's really cute and light-hearted, the words have a rhythm to them.

[Graham Pigeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute rhyming book. Lots of animals and animal sounds. The perfect read for very young babies and toddlers.

[Mely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This silly little book is a favorite in our house. The bright colorful illustrations captivate my toddler and the storyline is simple enough that she can read along.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this book and least three times a night. My little one loves to Moo with the baby!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the cadence of the rhymes. The story was fun.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I were these parents. I would be worried. Ha.

[Aarvik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful read!

[Steph]

Turn/Level: 1/2.5

Babies, Animal Sounds

A fun rhythmic rhyming read.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used in BST 3/14/25.

[Caleb Bratton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is really cute but it seems to be written for babies and is way too long to keep a baby’s attention.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun bouncy story in rhyme and brightly illustrated. Baby sees different animals and when asked what does each say - Baby always says Moo! Young readers will enjoy the humour and rhythmic telling of this story.
A board book.

[Lauren Moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early Childhood educators will love Baby Says “Moo”. This book is absolutely adorable. This was actually my third time reading the book. I have read it multiple times before to my early education class of one and two year olds. While reading this book children can learn what sounds each animal makes and they are also introduced to rhyme. I thoroughly enjoy this book. I cannot help but smile while flipping through the pages. Not only is the story absolutely adorable the pictures are super cute. The book is illustrated by David Walker. He does a great job of matching the simplicity of the pictures to the simple words used to describe the pictures.

[Yarima Morfin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful, colorful, loving book. It is a simple, yet fun book to read to a child who is starting to learn what people and animals say or do. The author uses rhyme every time she explains the actual sounds the animal makes for example, "A bird say moo? Well, isn't that sweet? But everyone knows that a bird says tweet!," She also uses a different color for the repeated words. A child reading this book will catch on to the repeated words, phrases and actions. The dad and mom always say something beautiful to their child every time she messes up the sound the animal makes for example, "A cow says moo, sure as you're my lovey-dove, I'm yours too," JoAnn Early Macken writes words and phrases that will make a child feel all giddy and happy when they listen to the book. She wrote the book in a way that when a mother, teacher, etc.; is reading it they can change their voices and actually do the animals sounds; children will love that and will repeat after you.

David Walker's illustration are fun too look at. Each page shows the mom, dad, baby and all the animals around. He has a picture of a bird, person, cow, dog, cats, and even a squirrel!. The are bold colors that will attract the attention of the children.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In text that rhymes and is fun to read aloud, a baby keeps telling its parents that "moo" is the sound made by people, birds, cats, horses, and even dogs. By the time the family ends its journey and finally encounters something that says "Moo!", the baby is almost too tired to hear it. The story is told in a cumulative fashion, repeating all the different sounds that other creatures make as it builds to its climax. The acrylic illustrations are simple and celebrate the comfort and warmth that exists in this family.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baby says "moo"!, i think is more of a book to read too children of younger grade levels such as pre-school and kinder garden because its very repetitive about noises that animals make. One positive point on this book is that it is a repetitive poem and it rhymes and i think this makes it much more fun and interesting for children as well as reading it too children. I think that the way the author or illustrator decided to give the text a different font and they also changed the color to the noises the animals made.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the subject of the book is baby, it's older toddlers and preschoolers who will really "get it" and understand the humor. Baby can't seem to comprehend that there are other sounds than "moo" and believes that everyone from people to dogs to cats MOO. I may incorporate this into a sibling or family storytime with diverse ages because the bright illustrations and animal sounds will appeal to toddlers.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reminds me of one of my favorite toddlers at programs this spring. No matter what farm animal puppet I pulled from the basket,Spencer's cry was always "Dog". Until a few months later, when suddenly that fluffy white bird became "duck".

This is cute,cute,cute with the sort of cute in language and art that has much appeal for a certain kind of mom, but not necessarily for the toddler squirming in her lap. But older preschoolers may like it.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A baby on a trip through the city and the country with her parents, sees various animals. At each animal the parents ask "Baby, what does _____ say?" Baby always says "moo". Not surprising as she's holding onto a stuffed cow. And the parents always correct her. This goes on until finally they come upon a cow. But Baby has fallen asleep. When she wakes up, she finally able to get the answer right.

Cute, but too young for preschool. Great for babies and toddler storytimes.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor baby seems to think that everything says “Moo!” Baby’s parents show Baby people and horses and dogs and cats and ask Baby what the animals say. Baby always says “Moo!” Finally, Baby is shown a cow and Baby knows the correct answer to what the animal says.

Lots of rhyme and bright pictures make this a fun book for young children.

“Baby cruises on,
smiling all the way,
waves at a horse
with its mouth full of hay.
Baby, what do horses say?
Baby says, “Moo!”

[Kathy Ogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read aloud to very young children (preschool). It has bright colors and predictable text that would be fun for the smallest listeners. I liked the way the illustrator used different type fonts and colors of type. The story leads up to a surprise ending when the parents realise the reason she keeps saying moo is that her favorite stuffed animal is a cow. I thought it was a fun book.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 18 month old son LOVES this book! He won't let me read any other book before bedtime. The repetition, colorful illustrations, and familiarity of "mom, dad, baby" on each page help him make connections to the words. It is also easily adaptable to read several ways. Sometimes we just flip through and find the little bird or cow on each page much like Mercer Mayer's books with the spider or frog. I cannot say enough good things about this book!

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This laughable, lovable cumulative rhymed text will be one that parents will be reading again and again to their littles. before long, those littles will be chiming in with both the predicted sounds of animals and soon with the text-offered humorous insertions. There is a simplified version of this as aBoard book, but the full picture book really captures magical rhyming and skillful sequencing of text that you won't want to miss.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet illustrations accompany a baby's insistence to say "moo" when she spots any animal. Told in a gentle rhyme, her parents attempt to point out the correct animal noise to no avail until they finally happen upon a cow. Since young children are often fond of mimicking animals, this is sure to be a hit. Although the rhymes are rather long for very little ones, adults can always adjust the words as needs when reading. Highly recommend.