Interrupting Cow and the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Interrupting Cow)

K-Gr 3--A lesson in friendship and being kind to others that also remains lighthearted and silly. Interrupting Cow is awoken by some panicked bovines in her barn. "'Monster!' one cried. 'Moo-nster!' the others screamed." They quickly run away, leaving Interrupting Cow faced with what appears to be "some kind of sheep" sitting on the grass nearby. As she moves closer, the animal--very clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing--seems distressed. Hoping to cheer the creature up, Interrupting Cow tells her favorite knock-knock joke, but it does not lift the mood of the lonely stranger. Interrupting Cow learns that the strange sheep longs for friendship, but struggles to find friends as a seemingly scary wolf. Hearing this, the title cow springs into action, leading her new acquaintance to her own crew of friends. Dreidemy's illustrations fill the pages with bright colors and exaggerated facial expressions, especially those of the cows, which complement the text nicely in this simple story of feeling out of place and longing for companionship. VERDICT Great as a read-aloud, but also a fine choice for any newly independent reader in an elementary setting.--Kerra Mazzariello