Story Talks: Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type

There are so many excellent children's books out there, and Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin is one of my absolute favorites. What makes this book so special? Well, first of all, on a basic story level, it's funny, which always gets points from me. It's also a nice length, perfect for when you don't have time for a long story. And, the illustrations are bright, colorful, and add to the humor.

But, the real value of this book is much deeper than that. It introduces challenging vocabulary words like, "ultimatum", "neutral party", and "furious". This is a great thing to talk about as you're reading it with your child or class. Ask if they know what these words mean. If not, take a moment to look up the meaning (it's a great opportunity to teach what we do when we come across a word we don't know). As you go through the book, ask if there are any other unfamiliar words that you should look up.

This book also implies some of the action, so it's good to stop during the story and talk about what is going on in the pictures to make sure that the whole story is understood. At the end of the story, have a discussion about the story and characters in the book. Here are some questions to get you started:

What do you think of Duck? Was he really a neutral party?

Do you think Farmer Brown is a good farmer? Why or why not?

Do you think the animals should be able to negotiate for things that they want?

Do you think the animals are really done asking for things?

What other things might the animals want?

As a follow up activity, ask what they think their pet might write if they could write a letter to them. Practice letter writing after brainstorming.