Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this barnyard trifle, Marjorie the cow feels low because she “can't ride bicycles and do handstands like the other cows.” Her pals the chickens put their heads together, and a miracle occurs. The Holstein finds a small black-and-white spotted egg in her stall and proudly takes credit for it. Paparazzi flock to the farm, yet Marjorie's fellow heifers suspect the “crafty chickens.” Readers have reason to believe the cows when “a small, brown, feathery bundle” emerges—that is, until the hatchling says, “Moooo!” Cutbill (the Albie books) provides a silly surprise with this punch line, the high point in a studiously whimsical book. Ayto (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Witch's Children), working in pen-and-ink and watercolor with paper collage to match Cutbill's determined nuttiness, depicts Marjorie as a doting, bipedal type, with heavy lashes surrounding her doleful blue eyes and a flower tucked behind her ear. A few spreads show panache, as in a view of the chickens in their stacked roosts that looks like a spread of comic-book panels, but there's not much to pull kids back for seconds after the single joke has been delivered. Ages 4-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Feb.)

Kirkus Reviews

Not since Farmer Brown's cows learned how to type has there been such an entertaining uproar in the barnyard. Marjorie the Holstein feels inferior to the other cows who can do handstands and ride bicycles. Determined to raise Marge's self-esteem, the chickens conspire to plant a black-and-white egg under her, which, while raising suspicions among the cows, brings her widespread fame. Doubts are confirmed when motherly Marge hatches a tiny feathered creature. Marge, however, has the last laugh when the new hatchling, though clearly a chicken, pronounces a loud "Moo." The blend of restrained storytelling, which treats bike-riding cows as conceivable, and the extravagantly bold, outlandish cartoon-and-collage illustrations, creates a merry farmstead farce that will tickle young audiences. (Picture book. 4-8)

ALA Booklist (Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2008)

Marjorie the cow feels just plain ordinary. She wishes she could ride bicycles and do handstands like the other cows, so the cunning chickens hatch a plan to help her out. The next morning, there's an almighty commotion in the barnyard; Marjorie has laid an egg. The other cows are convinced it's a trick til Marjorie's egg cracks open and the newly hatched chick bellows  "Moo." This is a great comic take on the Ugly Duckling tale, with double-page spreads in ink, watercolor, and pencil showing comical farm creatures and humans, who are every bit as ridiculous as the animals. The fun is in the details, especially the black Holstein-like patches on Marjorie's egg.