Minnie and Moo and the Musk of Zorro
Udderly hilarious!\ Minnie and Moo are back in two new tales, the latest in the series that the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books called "the cream of the beginning-reader crop."\ Moo longs for the days of heroes, the days of the derring-do of good-deed doers. As Juanita del Zorro del Moo and Dolores del Zorro del Minnie, our heroes roam the farm armed with an aerosol can of Zorro musk and a barbecue skewer, attempting to rescue the downtrodden. Can they free the chickens from the...
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Udderly hilarious! Minnie and Moo are back in two new tales, the latest in the series that the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books called "the cream of the beginning-reader crop." Moo longs for the days of heroes, the days of the derring-do of good-deed doers. As Juanita del Zorro del Moo and Dolores del Zorro del Minnie, our heroes roam the farm armed with an aerosol can of Zorro musk and a barbecue skewer, attempting to rescue the downtrodden. Can they free the chickens from the oppression of the rooster? Can they free the farmer's long underwear from being hung on the clothesline? Can they mind their own business? Of course not...they're Minnie and Moo. Children's LiteratureTwo loopy cows create some barnyard mayhem when Moo reads about Zorro in The Musk of Zorro. Lamenting that all the heroes have gone, the two remember a trunk of old clothes in the barn and dress up as Juanita and Dolores del Zorro, save the chickens from a clueless rooster and mark the farmer's long underwear with the letters PU setting off the farmer's wife who is sure that it's that Elsie Maxwell from the neighboring farm. While there's plenty of slapstick plus the ludicrous cows walking upright here, much of the humor (including the pun about the "musk" of Zorro and the resulting spray deodorant usage) will sail right by the beginning reader. As a family read-aloud, it's a hoot, though, and each member will enjoy this book differently even as they enjoy it together. Part of the "Minnie and Moo" series. 2000, DK Publishing, Ages 5 to 8, $12.95 and $3.95. Reviewer: Susan Hepler
\ Children's LiteratureTwo loopy cows create some barnyard mayhem when Moo reads about Zorro in The Musk of Zorro. Lamenting that all the heroes have gone, the two remember a trunk of old clothes in the barn and dress up as Juanita and Dolores del Zorro, save the chickens from a clueless rooster and mark the farmer's long underwear with the letters PU setting off the farmer's wife who is sure that it's that Elsie Maxwell from the neighboring farm. While there's plenty of slapstick plus the ludicrous cows walking upright here, much of the humor (including the pun about the "musk" of Zorro and the resulting spray deodorant usage) will sail right by the beginning reader. As a family read-aloud, it's a hoot, though, and each member will enjoy this book differently even as they enjoy it together. Part of the "Minnie and Moo" series. 2000, DK Publishing, Ages 5 to 8, $12.95 and $3.95. Reviewer: Susan Hepler\ \ \ \ \ School Library JournalPreS-Gr 3-Denys Cazet's delightful bovine duo, Minnie and Moo entertain young readers with yet another adventure (DK, 2000). After reading a book about Zorro, Moo decides that there are just not enough heroes in the world. She convinces Minnie to join her as they don disguises and become the heroes Juanita del Zorro del Moo and Delores del Zorro del Minnie. Together with their lipstick-tipped sword and aerosol can of musk, they set out to save the chickens from the fox and the farmer from the bad guys. Things aren't quite what they seem as the heroes encounter a rooster and some scary underwear! Barbara Caruso's narration seems a bit stilted at first but smoothes out quickly as she finds her rhythm. Caruso uses a distinctly different voice for each character. Background noises such as chickens in the barnyard are effective, and music adds dramatic touches throughout the story. The cassette has page-turn signals, but occasionally a background sound resembles the cue which may confuse beginning readers. An enjoyable choice for individual reading.-Betty L. Pittman, Hackett Elementary School, AR Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsCazet has struck a vein of precious ore in his "Minnie and Moo" series for beginning readers. These are simple books, but have a distinct, eccentric narrative that displays gumption, decency, and dreams on the cows' part. The stories are also funny, accompanied by dry, witty artwork and a hint of naughtiness that refuses to swim into focus. Here, Moo sighs wistfully over the lack of heroes in the modern world. "You have been reading again, haven't you?" demands her boon companion Minnie, neatly investing the act of reading with all the subversiveness it deserves. Moo points to Zorro as a role model: "Most days he just hung around. But on some days, he dressed in black and scared away the bad guys with a sword." Moo's enthusiasm is infectious and soon she and Minnie are dressing up as a pair of cow Zorros, complete with a sword tipped with a discarded tube of lipstick and a can of deodorant: The Musk of Zorro. They sally forth to do some good deeds around the farm. They liberate the chickens from the opportunings of the rooster; they neutralize two pair of the farmer's long underwear flapping on the clothesline. This sparks some high farce between the farmer and his wife, who wants to know how the letters P U got written in lipstick on the long johns. She thinks it's a vindictive neighbor. The farmer notes, "I thinks it's those two cows on the hill." A delightful, clean, and spare story brimming with comedy, typeset so that it can be read like free verse, such as this existential item: "Are we all just cows/waiting to get hooked up/to the electric milker?" (Easy reader. 6-8)\ \
