Starred Review ALA Booklist (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Starred Review In a down-home style, country singer Travis reads this picture book about Farmer Brown's clever animals, who enter the county-fair talent show hoping to win the first-prize trampoline. Musicians Scott Huff and Robert Reynolds create delightful background accompaniment that incorporates toe-tappin' fiddles and banjos. Speaking in a distinctive, slight southern drawl, Travis, also the reader of Cronin's Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type (2000), speaks slowly and clearly until he humorously increases the pace to read the talent-contest rules and restrictions. Adding to the amusement are background barnyard sounds, a dead-on impersonation of a Donald Duck type voice, a dreamlike melody that accompanies the pigs' interpretive dance, and the sheep's baa-baa tones of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Illustrator Betsy Lewin's eye-catching watercolors burst off the page. The two final tracks of this crowd-pleasing read-along contain the talent-contest-winning performance of the ducks singing "Born to Be Wild" and the pigs' dance music. Kids will be howling out loud at the animals' sly tricks and silly songs. This 2008 Notable Children's Recording and 2008 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audio Publishing Honor title includes a hardcover book. This is also available as an animated DVD ($59.95). The DVD is a 2008 Notable Children's Videos choice. Honors all around for this highly entertaining program.

School Library Journal (Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

PreS-Gr 2 Duck is preparing the cows, sheep, and pigs to enter the talent show at the county fair. While the cows and sheep are singing familiar tunes, the pigs have choreographed an interpretive dance. Duck is determined that they will win first place, so they rehearse every night. In the meantime, Farmer Brown is keeping an eye on them during the day, and at night all he hears is what appears to be snoring. Will Duck and his friends be able to win the contest without alerting Famer Brown? With their signature humor, Cronin and illustrator Betsy Lewin have crafted a silly tale for children to enjoy. Narrator George Guidall plays into that humor by including the asterisk items related to the rules and conditions of the prizes, complete with an announcer voice. If children listen carefully, they will even hear recognizable tunes coming from their favorite animals. Children will delight in this fun animal story, while adults will appreciate the humorous asides. Elizabeth Elsbree, Krug Elementary School, Aurora, IL

Starred Review for Publishers Weekly (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

What do you get when a bunch of farm animals decide to enter a talent contest to win... a trampoline? Sounds like the latest joke at the watercooler, but it's just Cronin and Lewin (of <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Click, Clack, Moo fame) at it again, with an off-the-wall tale poised to deliver giggles galore. Here they reprise their bovine beauties crooning à la Sinatra. But they are not the only contestants of the barnyard persuasion: the pigs practice an interpretive dance and Duck belts out his rendition of "Born to Be Wild" in performances sure to amuse young and adult readers alike. While children will enjoy the pure silliness of singing animals alone, older readers will appreciate Cronin's tongue-in-cheek asides, such as the footnote about the trampoline being "slightly used," along with a legal disclaimer. Lewin's expansive brush strokes pay further tribute to this tall tale of animals that sing and dance behind closed barn doors. By story's end, the animals have returned to their regular routines, except for the extra "boing" in their song—whose source comes clear in Lewin's closing image of the animals enjoying the well-earned prize. Fans will hope for many more farmyard adventures from this dynamic duo. Ages 3-7. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Aug.)

Horn Book

Farmer Brown's animals, led by Duck, sneak around Farmer Brown to enter the talent show at the county fair in hopes of winning first prize, a trampoline. The predictable story is enhanced by Lewin's energetic, loose watercolor illustrations. Cronin's rhythmic text is well paced and full of funny small details.

Kirkus Reviews

Those self-actualized animals down at Farmer Brown's return for a welcome new caper. Their leader, Duck—who reads the farmer's newspaper daily—notes that the upcoming county fair will feature a talent show. Bent on first prize (a "slightly used" trampoline), he directs the cows' rehearsals of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," the sheep on "Home on the Range" and the pigs' slumber-inducing interpretive dance. Since Farmer Brown can't trust this crafty herd, he loads them into the truck, parks and heads off for the fair's free barbecue. The animals—naturally—enter the contest and perform, with decidedly mixed results, and it's Duck who once more brings home the bacon. When Farmer Brown resumes snooping outside the barn that night, he hears "Dooby, dooby BOING! Fa la, la, la BOING! Whacka, whacka BOING." Yet again, Lewin's watercolors delightfully extend Cronin's text. Her gestural black brushstrokes enliven everything from a bristly welcome mat to the animals' clandestinely pleased expressions as their duped farmer crowds them into the fair-bound truck. (Duck, of course, rides shotgun.) Great fun. (Picture book. 3-7)