Fiona Ross
Chilly Milly Moo is a very special cow. Her tendency to overheat means she has a very difficult time in the summer. It probably doesn't help that she insists on wearing a knit cap and boots year round, but apparently that's her thing. Does fashion ever really make sense?
It might not be too hot for boots, but it is certainly too hot for milk making. Millie skulks around the barn, embarrassed by her inability to perform her main function. It doesn't help that the other cows are lolling around in the pastures, bragging about the quantities of milk they regularly produce. While Millie sulks, they loudly proclaim that the heat from the sun's rays boosts their milk production. Poor Chilly Milly Moo. The farmer informs her that if she doesn't make milk, she won't be able to stay at the farm.
This dried up cow goes to bed feeling confused and unappreciated, and wakes to find a snowstorm raging outside. While the other barn inhabitants are shivering, moaning and groaning about the temperature, Milly Moo is pleased as punch to see the farmer arrive. Strange noises erupt from her midsection when the farmer settles on his milking stool. Once the farmer sees what his crazy cow can do, he can't believe his fortune. The snowstorm has turned Chilly Millie Moo into an ice cream dispenser!
Fun book, funny ending, and great illustrations. This is the first children's book from Fiona Ross, but I have my fingers crossed that this is her signature style of illustration and hope to see more. The digitally created illustrations have kind of a messy look to them, almost like smudges of ink everywhere. The font runs in different directions (I particularly like the sentence printed on the farmer's bum) creating a sense of whimsy. It is certainly fitting that the cow unique enough to wear a hat with a pom pom is the who who astonishes the farmer in the end.
Review copy provided by Candlewick Press.
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