Crash, Splash, or Moo!

by Bob Shea

Overview

Calling all daredevils! It's time to play CRASH, SPLASH, OR MOO! in this boisterous picture book with all the excitement of a game show.

Mr. McMonkey is your host, and your contestants are America's favorite stunt clam, Action Clam...and a cow! These unlikely daredevils face off in a zany sequence of challenges—and readers get to guess the outcome of all the wacky stunts. The winner gets a Golden Banana!

Readers will be laughing, cheering, and giving themselves a round of applause as they play the game over and over again. Bob Shea, creator of many favorite funny books, including Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great and the Ballet Cat series, provides endless storytime fun with high-energy audience participation.

Don’t miss these other funny books by Bob Shea!
Chez Bob
Pizza for Birds
Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great
Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime
The Scariest Book Ever!
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316541060
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/04/2020
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	664,845
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Bob Shea has written many popular books for children, including Chez Bob, Who Wet My Pants?, Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great and the Dinosaur vs. … series. He lives in Madison, Connecticut and he invites you to visit his website at bobshea.com.

Editorial Reviews

07/09/2018
In his characteristic cartoon-style illustrations, Shea (the Ballet Cat series) creates an energetic game show in which readers become players. Choosing from one of the three words in the title, they must guess what will happen when a foolhardy “Action Clam” and a phlegmatic cow perform daredevil stunts. One frenzied Mr. McMonkey hosts (Shea wisely asks audience members to “raise their hands” rather than shout out their guesses), awarding bananas for each right answer. A big part of the joke is that the game involves almost no suspense: Action Clam takes on anything that ends in “crash” or “splash,” while the cow, set up to perform amazing feats, stays put and says “moo.” But with the help of a jet pack, the two performers join forces for a final stunt that achieves a sort of literary hat trick. As characters, typography, and jokes bounce around the pages—bright, silly, and loud—this one proves itself banana-worthy. Ages 4–8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2019 International Literacy Association/Children's Book Council Children's Choices List

"The spirit of Evel Knievel is alive and well in this retro game show, restructured for the storytime set. ...Kids will eat up the humor. ...All the interaction of an Hervé Tullet book, with a flying clam, a hyperactive monkey, and a cow all thrown in for good measure."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Energetic... As characters, typography, and jokes bounce around the pages—bright, silly, and loud—this one proves itself banana-worthy."
—Publishers Weekly

"High-energy...sure to be in demand during storytimes."
—Booklist

"Kids will line up for a chance to play."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—Set up like a game show, Shea's latest humorous picture book asks participants to raise their hands and vote (CRASH!, SPLASH!, or MOO! are the options) for the outcome of stunts done by an Action Clam and Cow. Narration is done by an energetic host named Mr. McMonkey, and the prizes include bananas and a top secret end-of-the-book prize. The digital illustrations are as silly, unpredictable, and action-packed as the story line. It is impossible not to have fun while reading or listening to this zany story. VERDICT The elements of interactivity make this a great storytime read-aloud. This story is also full of classroom extension possibilities, including activities involving new stunts and outcomes. Kids will line up for a chance to play.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, Alta.

School Library Journal

2018-06-24
The spirit of Evel Knievel is alive and well in this retro game show, restructured for the storytime set.A blue monkey, bedecked in a purple suit clearly filched from Willy Wonka's tailor, invites readers to play a guessing game. Will the daredevils featured in this book crash, splash, or moo in a given situation? The brave souls in question consist of Action Clam ("America's favorite splashin', crashin' stunt clam!") and an ordinary cow. As for the stunts, they include being shot from a cannon into a glass of water, leaping over 10 school buses on a motorcycle, and one that involves piñatas, a rocket pack, and an enormous tub of butterscotch pudding. It's clearly written with storytimes in mind, and child readers are encouraged to raise their hands as they vote on what they believe the contestants will do in any given situation. Kids will eat up the humor even as they bask in the knowledge that they're smarter than their host, Mr. McMonkey. Shea rocks a euphoric chaos, deploying both copious negative space and a pop-art sensibility. And thanks to the visible palette of yellow, red, and blue, this is one read-aloud that will be easy to see across a crowded room. All the interaction of an Hervé Tullet book, with a flying clam, a hyperactive monkey, and a cow all thrown in for good measure. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews