Moo Dog by David Milgrim (review)

This little beginning reader starts with that age-old event, an animal making the wrong animal noise. In this case it’s a pup going “Moo,” sometimes supported by his bird sidekick, and the rest of the barnyard is resistant to the new direction. After they erupt into laughter, the pooch firmly sets them straight (echoed belligerently by his bird friend) and the animals decide to roll with it—and the donkey opts to break out with a “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” This follow-up to Milgrim’s Moo Bird again demonstrates the author-illustrator’s established gift for peppy beginning reading. Dialogue offers both plausible and comic repetition and the situation is a natural for short words and quick repartee, all of which takes place entirely in speech bubbles; some difficult early orthography challenges are helpfully negotiated as well. Soft, easy lines create simple, slightly goofy animal figures, with minimal shading keeping things cartoonish and expressions helping provide cues for tone and expression in the text. It’s a neat and humorous outing, and its sly championing of noisy, engaged reading will add a pleasing disruption to early reader struggles.