Arc Review: Moo by Sharon Creech

Moo by Sharon Creech. 278 p. Joanna Cotler Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, August, 2016. 9780062415240. (Review from arc courtesy of publisher) 

Reena and her brother Luke are city kids through and through. When their journalist parents both lose their jobs and are unable to find new ones, they pack up and head to Maine and the great unknown. Reena and Luke are pretty on board with the move. She anticipates beaches, blueberries and lobster. What she gets is work. She and her brother are volunteered by their parents to help an elderly neighbor, Mrs. Falala, with chores. This includes tending her cow, Zora. Zora is one nasty cow and Mrs. Falala is a bit crotchety herself. Both of them scare poor Luke leaving Reena to deal with Zora. Luckily for Reena, Beat and Zep, who work the cows on a neighboring farm, are willing to mentor Reena. As Reena's confidence grows and Zora becomes more tractable, Reena begins to appreciate both Mrs. Falala and Zora. This is a lovely story about family, friendship and farming.

This poetry/ prose hybrid is classic Creech - sweet, tender, amusing, and udderly readable. For fans of Love That Dog, this book will feel like a warm homecoming or putting on a favorite pair of slippers. New readers are in for a treat. Sharon Creech's books are so accessible thanks to her spare narrative style, her keen eye for small moments and her gentle affection for both her readers and her characters.