– Customer review on 18/07/2007

This book illustrated by Patricia Mullins is levelled at children pre-kindergarten up to about six years, but it can also be used effectively with older children as will be explained.

The story is about Hattie the big black hen who becomes increasingly perturbed as she spots first a nose and then increasingly more body parts hiding in the bushes. Her fellow barnyard animals are not the slightest bit interested and treat her remarks with varying degrees of boredom, cynicism and disdain. As the story advances to its inevitable conclusion and the fox appears, the animals react with alarm until the cow gives a very loud moo and frightens the fox away.

I first purchased it ten years ago for my then 3-year-old daughter who would make me read it to her over and over again. She would be Hattie and I would be all the different animals until the end when she would also want to be the cow mooing. The text is wonderful for reading aloud because of all the different animals and the varying expressions needed to convey their different moods. It is simple but effective and has many repeated phrases so children are quick to join in, getting as excited as Hattie as they realise long before the animals what is hiding in the bushes. Repetition and rhythm make this a very successful book for young children. Although the book is intended for young children I have also used it to introduce year seven & eight children to readers’ theatre. They love it because they can act up the characters. (Try saying ‘who cares’ with a baa in your voice.)

The pictures well complement the short pieces of dialogue. Young children would relate very well to this story because the animals are clear and realistic looking with appropriate colours used for each animal. There is enough movement and change in the stance and expression of the animals to hold the child’s attention until the inexorable conclusion. I like the way the text ‘But the cow said, MOO!’ comes out of the cow’s mouth on the second to last double spread, with the fox’s fleeing tail and hind legs disappearing off the page on the opposite side with the text, ‘so loudly that the fox was frightened and ran away. In sharp contrast the last double spread is a tableau of the animals standing stock still with rather glazed looks. The final page has a picture of Hattie in her high coop looking very contented. A satisfying conclusion for the child that all is well once again.