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 Review by
Louella Moreland
Effie had a big dream: to be a champion cow at the state fair. Although
she loved her life on the farm, she wanted to experience the excitement of
fair competition. Her friend, Petunia Pig, decides to help her out. Petunia
sets out to get Effie in shape with exercise, fixes her hair, paints her
spots, paints her hooves a bright red, glues her tail and teaches her how to
walk properly.
Each beauty touch-up is expertly depicted in the illustrations, with
Effie using a treadmill and dancercising to get in shape, sitting under a
hair dryer with curlers, and painting her hooves. But when Effie arrives at
the fair, the other cows have fancier hairdos, shinier hooves and can walk
with a strut that a runway model would envy. In fact, they are perfect. Poor
Effie!
When they leave the barn to go to the show arena, Effie realizes the
breeze feels great, the grass smells delicious and the water in the pond is
very inviting. The other cows are shocked. The breeze could mess up their
hair, the grass could make their teeth green, and water could make them
bloat. When Effie arrives at the arena she is a happy mess. She has turned
back into the original Effie.
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There are many books that encourage children to be themselves,
and this is one that delivers the message with humor and fun.
Readers will understand Effie's dreams, recognize the haughtiness of
the competition and cheer for Effie in the end. It is a delightful
story for any young reader but will be especially appreciated by
those from a rural background where fairs and cattle judging are
known to them.
Helakoski does a fantastic job of matching text and illustrations
to round out Effie's story. It is a visual delight that will have
children poring over the pages to find every little detail. Don't
miss this one.
You will find it in the juvenile section of the Lincoln Public
Library, 725 Pekin St. Look for more books about fairs while you are
there!
[Text from file received from
Louella Moreland,
Lincoln Public Library District]
(Ms. Lou's blog:
lincolnpubliclibraryupdates.blogspot.com) |
