Bliss' illustrations, familiar to many readers from his collaborations with Doreen Cronin, show a farm that's a perfect mix of cartoon animals and realistic backgrounds. The story begins with Cow, who is a bad mood for a number of reasons. She splashes mud at Duck and when asked why, says "I felt like it...and I'm not sorry." Thus the bad mood begins. Duck calls Frog names, Frog insults Bird's song, Bird knocks Goat off a tree, and so it goes.
It ends with Pig crying, big, snorting sobs, and Dog stops by to see what's wrong. Undeterred by Pig's bad move, Dog shares some kind words and a reminder of their friendship and the chain begins to unravel, with each animal apologizes and fixing their previous harsh words. Finally, it gets back to Cow and her bad mood is gone... but now Horse is surrounded by flies...
The ending is both humorous and realistic, acknowledging that bad - and good - moods don't last and all we can do is try to be kind to each other and apologize for mean words.
Verdict: This was funny and touching and had a nice, rhythmic feel to it that I think would work well in storytime. Some adults may want a more pointed moral and dislike the ambiguous ending, but I thought it was realistic and funny.
ISBN: 9781984812476; Published April 2020 by Philomel; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library
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