Twelve-year-old Reena doesn’t know what to expect when she moves from the city to a small Maine town with her parents and younger brother, Luke. She definitely didn’t anticipate having to help their eccentric new neighbor, Mrs. Falala, with her menagerie of animals. Prickly Mrs. Falala doesn’t act as if she wants Reena and Luke around, but gradually a genuine friendship develops between them. A relationship also develops between Reena and Mrs. Falala’s Belted Galloway cow, Zora, whom Reena learns to care for and prepares to show at the fair. When an unexpected death occurs, Reena and Luke are able to temper their sadness with the richness of their new friendships and their recently developed passion for animals. The spare style of this novel in verse accentuates the credible development of trusting bonds between and among humans and their animals. (Ages 9–12)

This uplifting New York Times bestseller reminds us that if we’re open to new experiences, life is full of surprises.

Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog and Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. Following one family’s momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.

When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.

This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.