Recommended by Amy Short

Standing in mud sours Cow's mood, and she takes it out on Duck, who takes it out on Frog... and the bad mood (and refusal to apologize) travels around the farm until it comes to Pig, who tries to take it out on Dog. "But Dog just sat there and let Pig cry for a while," and then reaffirms their friendship. Pig feels better and apologizes, starting a new, kinder chain that reaches all the way back to Cow. And everything was better, until Horse was surrounded by flies...

See also: The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snicket, The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld, The Escape Goat by Ann Patchett ( )

Cow is in a bad mood. She is stuck in the muck after a hard rain on the farm. Her mood spreads to the whole farm after she flings mud in Duck’s face and Duck then takes it out on Frog, who takes it out on, Bird, who upsets Goat, who bothers Pig. It takes good hearted Dog to turn things around on the farm. He shows kindness to Pig by turning “not sorry”, into “sorry (really sorry)”. Will this do the trick and turn their frowns upside down? I would recommend this for any collection. Joanna Cotler does an excellent job of creating talking points for children and making them understand that their actions have consequences that might not always be what they expect. I like that she uses animals to make her point. Children will love to read along and participate in this well written picture book. ( )

This cumulative tale shows how a bad mood - and a little kindness - can spread very quickly.

Bliss' illustrations, familiar to many readers from his collaborations with Doreen Cronin, show a farm that's a perfect mix of cartoon animals and realistic backgrounds. The story begins with Cow, who is a bad mood for a number of reasons. She splashes mud at Duck and when asked why, says "I felt like it...and I'm not sorry." Thus the bad mood begins. Duck calls Frog names, Frog insults Bird's song, Bird knocks Goat off a tree, and so it goes.

It ends with Pig crying, big, snorting sobs, and Dog stops by to see what's wrong. Undeterred by Pig's bad move, Dog shares some kind words and a reminder of their friendship and the chain begins to unravel, with each animal apologizes and fixing their previous harsh words. Finally, it gets back to Cow and her bad mood is gone... but now Horse is surrounded by flies...

The ending is both humorous and realistic, acknowledging that bad - and good - moods don't last and all we can do is try to be kind to each other and apologize for mean words.

Verdict: This was funny and touching and had a nice, rhythmic feel to it that I think would work well in storytime. Some adults may want a more pointed moral and dislike the ambiguous ending, but I thought it was realistic and funny.

ISBN: 9781984812476; Published April 2020 by Philomel; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library