Donna O'Neeshuck Was Chased by Some Cows - Hardcover

Donna O'Neeshuck likes to pet animals and people on the head. One morning she pets a cow, and sets off a chain reaction that seems never-ending. The cow gets her friendschickens, pigs, dogs and peopleto chase Donna, who manages to stay just a few paces ahead of the unruly mob. When a policeman stops her pursuers, Donna thinks she is safe. But Donna makes a mistakeshe thanks the cop with a pat on the head. He and his friends also join the chase. Soon the entire county is chasing Donnamen, women, children, cats, moose, geese, buffaloes, horses, and on and on. Finally, Donna can run no more. She stops, thorws up her hands, and asks, "What do you want?" When the mob replies, Donna is very surprised but most willing to oblige their request. This is a clever cumulative poem, with a regular rhyming scheme that moves faster and faster as Donna becomes more frantic. Truesdell's frenetic watercolor illustrations of the fast-moving red-headed heroine are perfect companions to the poem's pace and breakneck hilarity. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Kindergarten-Grade 1 The limerick-like stanzas of this story in rhyme are well suited to its pace. The chase starts when Donna pats a cow on the head. Each time she thinks that she has escaped her followers, she pats her rescuer and the chase is on again. Finally, she stops to ask everyone why and discovers that they all want their heads patted, too. The cheerful watercolors catch the frenetic silliness and avoid any hint of menace. This lighthearted nonsense would be best read aloud, and the illustrations are large and clear enough for a group. Running after someone to get a head pat seems less likely than some of the other picture books of a cumulative chase, like McClintock's A Fly Went By (Random, 1958), in which the race is a panic caused by a sheep with a can stuck on its foot. Carolyn Caywood, Virginia Beach Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.