Middle Grade Book Review: Moo by Sharon Creech

Before we get to the Moo Review. . .

(Scoot down a paragraph if you're udderly uninterested in this and just want the review COW now.)

Spooktacular October and Halloween are over (the AGONY 😫💔) but friends, boy oh boy do I still have PLENTY to say. With November tip toeing in bringing nightfall before 6 pm and shaking the last of the blazing gold, red, and orange leaves off of the trees, this month is a time to crank cozy levels up to 11. 

So grab a warm drink (maybe you're feeling a bit sassy and ready to hot cocoa things up, you devil you!!!), light a pumpkin spice candle and get ready to talk about some sweet, charming and heart-warming books. 

This month my middle grade theme is Friendsgiving! Diverse books that focus on the bonds between friends, and families! Families that we make on our own or that we're born into. Maybe even both! Cuz some of us are the witch or wizard in the Dursley family and make our own families with a lot of red-haired, hand-me-down robes-wearing Weasley clans. 

NOW-- onto the review!!!! (Whiiiich I technically wrote in October. Shhhhh.) 

Girl Meets Cow in "Moo"

 Now that I’ve thrown myself into the whirlwind of middle-grade lit I’m revisiting some authors I’ve last read books by over a decade ago (AM I REALLY THAT OLD????) as well as introducing myself to some of the uber popular middle-grade writers of both today and from before I was born. (I'm really not THAT old after all 😝)

Award-winning author Sharon Creech deserves a place on any quintessential middle-grade must-read list. Yet I still managed to forget about her until two about two weeks ago, classic derpy me 🤗#NBD. When I was in elementary school I read Creech’s A Walk Two Moons, Chasing Redbird, and Bloomability. But here’s the thing. I don’t remember anything about those books other than the cover art and the titles. My mind is a blank. Super uncool. I know. So when Moo practically fell into my hands one afternoon my cow-loving self JUMPED at the chance to acquaint myself with Sharon Creech. Plus get some cute cow moments along the way.

Well. Moo isn’t exactly a cute book but it sure is a creative take on the “new kid” genre and the animal-human bond. Twelve-year-old Reena and her little brother Luke move to Maine when their parents are exhausted by their city lives and the daily grind of working as reporters.

After they settle into their picturesque new town, a delightful mix of lush farmlands, and misty seasides with lobster boats bobbing in the gentle lapping of the ocean, Reena and Luke meet their neighbor. A widowed farm-dwelling Italian woman who their mother instantly dotes on. And volunteers Luke and Reena to spend time with her and help her take care of her animals. Worst. Summer. Vacation. EVER.

Mrs. Falala (not pronounced like the FA LA LA LA LAAAAA chorus in the Christmas tune Deck The Halls #JSYK) is a moody old woman with an even moodier 800-pound cow named Zora. Reena takes on the dirtiest job of her life--  mucking out barns, scooping up Zora’s dung patties, and combing and washing the tangled hair of the drippy-nosed, drooly-mouthed cow. Y-U-C-K.

Moo’s narrative takes an uncommon tac. Told in poems and prose in Reena’s voice, at moments Moo reads a lot like a diary. Reena’s voice is believably that of a twelve-year-old and shines through loud as a bell on page after page. There is a colourfulness and playfulness to Creech’s word choice. She’s got a great feel for the rhythm of words and how to make things heavier or lighter with them alone--she deftly switches up the mood in each “poem” or chapter. So much emotion pulses out from the pages and along with the elaborate details (that don’t veer into purple prose territory) it feels like we’re right there on Mrs. Falala’s farm with Reena.

Moo’s plot mostly revolves around the friendship that buds between Reena and Zora. There are also two teenagers, Beat and Zeb, who work at another local cow farm who quickly become pals with Reena and introduce her to cow showing and country fairs. But Moo is largely girl-meets-cow. It’s about kindness and gentleness and second chances. In some ways, Moo reminds me a little bit of The War That Saved My Life and Ada’s relationship with the pony Butter Animal lovers are sure to get a kick out of cranky Mrs. Falala’s small menagerie of animals including a cat, pig, parrot, snake and of course Zora.

There’s a great kindness in Reena and she models that for young reads as well as hard work ethics and persistence. Yes, sometimes she fails. And yes, sometimes she complains and gets sulky. But it doesn’t cross the line and it is very realistic for a girl in Reena’s position.

There’s a pinch of reality at the end and it stings. But it’s quickly transformed into something positive. Is it unrealistic? A bit, yeah. But it suits the tone of Moo, which is largely intended for a younger audience, say ages 8 - 12.

However, there are two things that actively bothered me about Moo. First, the comment towards the end of the book about Zeb, a guy in his mid-teenage years maybe not coming to just visit Zoya. Ya know ‘cuz *wink nudge* Reena is the one that’s always by her side taking care of her. It’s a bit icky to sneak that in there and totally unnecessary.

My second issue is Sharon Creech’s dismissal of vegetarians and vegetarian life. This broke my heart. When Reena and Luke discover hamburgers are cows, and bacon is pig they’re devastated and can’t stop imagining their new animal friends on Mrs. Falala’s farm. But here’s the thing. At the dinner table their parents basically go “d’awww kids!” and remind them how “yummy” their tacos, burgers, and nuggets are. 

I’m sorry but what the actual hell. Sharon Creech had the perfect window of opportunity to support a cruelty-free lifestyle and show one reason why people choose to go vegetarian. To show how the love of animals can be such a lasting impact that it entirely changes someone’s diet and those someone's are proud of their choices.

I am DISMAYED, yes, dismayed at how carelessly and thoughtlessly she handled that. 

For that reason, I chose to knock my rating of Moo down a notch. I can only hope that young readers do take it to heart that animals don’t have to be food. I hope they’ll have friends, siblings, parents, or guardians who do support and encourage that lifestyle. I hope that the kids who read this will at least consider vegetarianism.

Aside from those two issues, Moo is a warm-hearted book that encourages friendship, patience, and forgiveness. It gently nudges readers, young and old alike, to reconsider their first impressions and judgments and to not hold back on sharing their kindness and love.

Recommended.