Crash Bang Donkey!

February 22, 2010
Children who are always being told to quiet down will appreciate the story of a noisy donkey whose racket turns out to have real value. Farmer Gruff spends his days defending his crop from marauding crows, and he's short of sleep. When Crash Bang Donkey shows up with his musical instruments—“PLINK PLONK PLONK PLINK! 'Come on, Pigster, feel the groove!' ” he brays—the farm animals try in vain to keep him from waking the farmer. But after sending the donkey away, Farmer Gruff changes his mind when he discovers that Crash Bang Donkey's music making is good for keeping the crows away. Newton's (Larry and Rita
) fluffy, pastel animals and landscapes work well with the pastoral setting, though they don't exactly play up Crash Bang Donkey's raucous obliviousness as he bangs on his drums and blares his trumpet with groovester abandon. The best spreads are the closeups that pit the donkey against a single adversary: a shocked chicken or an irritated Farmer Gruff. The ample onomatopoetic words encourage reading aloud at the maximum decibel level permitted. Ages 4–8.

February 1, 2010
PreS-Gr 2-Farmer Gruff is very tired because he spends his days and nights trying to keep the hungry crows away from his cornfields. All of the animals are careful to be quiet so they don't wake him up while he tries to sleep. Then a clamorous donkey comes crashing onto the scene with a variety of musical instruments, and peace and quiet are forgotten. Children will delight in learning how the donkey creates such a hullabaloo and rids the farmer of the pesky crows. This story is along the lines of June Crebbin's "Cows in the Kitchen" (Candlewick, 1998), Teresa Bateman's "Farm Flu" (Albert Whitman, 2001), and Jarrett J. Krosoczka's "Punk Farm" (Knopf, 2005). Newton's painterly, muddy, and boldly colored illustrations enhance a rhythmic story that is sure to please storytime crowds, and the spread showing all of the animals on different instruments playing a lullaby for the dozing farmer is a delight."Melissa Smith, Green Valley Library, Henderson, NV"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2010
Preschool-G Having spent day and night chasing crows from his cornfields, Farmer Gruff is in desperate need of sleep. All is quiet on the farm until an instrument-playing (drums, trumpet, piano, guitar, flute, accordion, bagpipes, and more), jive-talking (Ride the rhythm, baby! Hey dude, whats occurring?) Donkey arrives, crash-banging, plink-plonking, and disturbing Farmer Gruffs sleep. Donkey is banned from the farm until it is discovered that his noisy music is perfect for keeping the crows away and he learns theres a time to be quiet and a time to be loud. Straightforward yet amusing text fortified with plenty of drama, action, and sounds combines with full-page, brightly colored pastel illustrations to make this a crowd-pleaser. Have musical instruments on hand for extra effect. For a musical donkey in a different context, try out Doris Orgels The Bremen Town Musicians and Other Animal Tales from Grimm (2004).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2010
When Donkey plays his musical instruments with the restraint of Jimi Hendrix, sleep-deprived Farmer Gruff fumes--until he discovers that the racket scares off some troublesome crows. The story's message ("There's a time to be quiet and a time to be loud") is somewhat bland, but the illustrations, especially of oblivious Donkey, are droll.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)