Quacky and Hoppy Book

Booklist (September 1, 2004 (Vol. 101, No. 1))

PreS-Gr. 2. Palatini's tale of a cow suffering from an identity crisis is sheer entertainment from cover to cover. When Hilda the Heifer gets bonked on the noggin by a flying cow pie, she develops an ugly bump and amnesia. The ensuing story follows Hilda on her quest to find out just who she is, where she belongs, and exactly what sound she is supposed to emit. The author of Piggie Pie (1997),Moosetache (1995),and many others gets it exactly right with her dialogues between Hilda and the animals whose identities she tries to adopt. Children will revel in the giggle-inducing lists of each species'identifying characteristics, such as coughing up hairballs and laying eggs, as the mixed-up bovine stumbles her way to the realization that "mooing is what she should be doing."Laugh-out-loud details within Graves'illustrations--from Hilda's rumpled, postbump pompadour to the bottle of Hog Wash used by a very hygienic pig--are pure delight.



Horn Book (Fall 2004)

Although Hilda Mae Heifer loves to sing, no one appreciates it. One day while crooning, she gets knocked "on the noggin." When she comes to, she can't remember what noise she makes: Honk? Oink? Mew? The other animals help her get her moo back; when she starts singing again they get earplugs. The zany illustrations complement the boisterously funny text.



Kirkus Reviews (May 15, 2004)

More verbal paradiddles from the Principessa of Puns and Wordfoolery. Thanks to a hard cow pie to the head, bovine diva Hilda Mae Heifer loses both memory and the ability to emit her earsplitting (off-key) moos. Confused, she wobbles over to a goose and honks. " 'Lady, enough of that honking! You're a cow. You moo.' 'Who?' answered Hilda. 'Me? Moo?' " Similarly worded encounters with chicks and other livestock ensue. A foreshortened body behind huge, mottled purple nostrils in Grave's characteristically oddball illustrations, Hilda waddles forlornly about the barnyard, uncertainly repeating, "Moo-oo. Me? Moo?" until her memory and Wagnerian voice at last return. The plot's a bit too thin to give this the udder perfection of Bad Boys (2003) or Web Files (2001), but it should still incite guffaws, particularly read aloud. (Picture book. 6-8)



Publishers Weekly (June 14, 2004)

When the cow Hilda Mae Heifer gets hit on the head by a flying cow pie, she wakes up clueless about the sound she's supposed to make. To the rest of the barnyard animals, that's no real tragedy. In fact, the general directive prior to her accident has been "Cover your ears when Hilda hit[s] a high note." But poor Hilda's quest to recover her sound seems to bring out the animals' benevolent side. Upon hearing the cow trying out his honk, a goose dons nerdy glasses, grabs a pointer and some visual aids, and lectures Hilda on what she is not. "Do you fly to Canada every year?" he says, map in tow. The pig, less successfully, tries to suggest that if Hilda were porcine she would most certainly have relatives who were "big boars"; Hilda thinks, "Maybe that did describe some members of her family." Palatini (Piggie Pie!) maintains a simultaneously arch and familiar tone throughout, narrating like a daffy relative, and Graves's (Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance) illustrations goose the jokes even more. His pictures-and his portrayal of the magnificently pink-snouted Hilda in particular-take on a corpulent plasticity. As for Hilda, she does indeed get her moo back. "Everyone else," writes Palatini, "got earplugs." Ages 4-7. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.



Publishers Weekly (September 10, 2007)

With the help of her fellow barnmates, Hilda the cow tries to remember the sound she's supposed to make. Palatini "maintains a simultaneously arch and familiar tone throughout... and Graves's illustrations goose the jokes even more," wrote PW. Ages 4-7. (Sept.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.



School Library Journal (July 1, 2004)

PreS-Gr 2-When Hilda Mae Heifer gets knocked on the noggin by a cow pie, she wakes up without her "moo." She meets a series of barnyard animals and tries imitating each one. They all tell her she's a cow and ask her questions to prove that she is not their kin, yet she is still "not convinced that mooing was what she should be doing." A cat finally gets her back to normal, and Hilda resumes her loud, off-key mooing, while "everyone else got earplugs." The lost-voice premise is not a new one, but Palatini's way with words and Graves's slightly manic artwork instill the characters and setting with freshness and humor. Strong rhythms, occasional rhymes ("You're no swine. You're bovine"), and a variety of puns ("Are your relatives big boars?") liven up the narrative. The illustrations are filled with purples, blues, and gray-greens, lending a fantastical aura to the farmyard world. The switch to white backgrounds when each creature quizzes the cow paces the tale neatly. Hilda's absurdly prominent purplish nostrils and her enthusiastically goofy facial expressions are right on target. The scholarly goose and the rest of the animal cast each have distinct looks. The vigorous energy of author and artist makes this otherwise basic tale a good choice for reading aloud, or for one-on-one sharing.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.