Joanna Cotler

Recommended by Amy Short

Standing in mud sours Cow's mood, and she takes it out on Duck, who takes it out on Frog... and the bad mood (and refusal to apologize) travels around the farm until it comes to Pig, who tries to take it out on Dog. "But Dog just sat there and let Pig cry for a while," and then reaffirms their friendship. Pig feels better and apologizes, starting a new, kinder chain that reaches all the way back to Cow. And everything was better, until Horse was surrounded by flies...

See also: The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snicket, The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld, The Escape Goat by Ann Patchett… (mais)

Cow is in a bad mood. She is stuck in the muck after a hard rain on the farm. Her mood spreads to the whole farm after she flings mud in Duck’s face and Duck then takes it out on Frog, who takes it out on, Bird, who upsets Goat, who bothers Pig. It takes good hearted Dog to turn things around on the farm. He shows kindness to Pig by turning “not sorry”, into “sorry (really sorry)”. Will this do the trick and turn their frowns upside down? I would recommend this for any collection. Joanna Cotler does an excellent job of creating talking points for children and making them understand that their actions have consequences that might not always be what they expect. I like that she uses animals to make her point. Children will love to read along and participate in this well written picture book.… (mais)