ALA Booklist (Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2010)

Spring brings new additions to the ranch where Cowgirl Kate and her horse, Cocoa, live. Soon after a calf is born in the pasture, a friend gives Kate a puppy. Then Kate and Cocoa investigate ghostly sounds in the barn and discover five baby owls. Written in five short chapters and illustrated with appealing watercolor artwork, the gently amusing story shows Kate taking responsibility on the ranch and smartly managing her rambunctious horse. From the Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa series, this episodic book has plenty of appeal.

Horn Book

In the first chapter, "cowhorse" Cocoa wants cowboy boots like Cowgirl Kate's, until he finds out that horseshoes bring good luck; subsequently, the two friends find a lost calf, practice roping skills, and go for a swim. Lewin's lively, expressive watercolors add even more humor to Silverman's already funny and engaging text in a book aimed at more advanced independent readers.

School Library Journal (Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

K-Gr 2 Cowgirl Kate wakes up her talking horse to go out on a late-night calf patrol. Sure enough, one of the cows is ready to give birth. Kate grabs her walkie-talkie to contact her parents but before she can reach them, the calf arrives. Despite Cocoa's complaints that cows are too much work, he finds the baby so sweet that he wants to stay all night to look after it. Later, when Kate's friend Jenny drives up to the farm, Cocoa is excited to think she might bring him a peppermint. Instead she brings Kate a puppy. Cocoa is obviously jealous of the new addition and ignores him until the puppy tickles his legs. When he learns that the puppy will help him with the cows, Cocoa welcomes him. In the third chapter, Cocoa mistakes baby barn owls for a ghost. While the stories are thin, this transitional first reader will appeal to fans of the other books in the series. Language is kept fairly simple and the ink and watercolor washes are humorous and light. The text lacks the real humor of beginning readers like Denys Cazet's "Minnie and Moo" series (HarperCollins) or Mo Willems's "Elephant & Piggie" books (Hyperion), but it is an adequate addition to fill the almost bottomless need for early chapter books. Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME