Cover Image: Coco the Mooing Horse

Coco the Mooing Horse

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Member Reviews

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a super silly book that reminded me of books by Eric Carle and Dr. Seuss. I can imagine young children being obsessed with this book, so adults this is your warning. I had fun reading this one and think it's bound to be a hit!


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Great story and lesson for the kids. However, felt it was too long. My child kept saying, “horses don’t moo”, and giggling.

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3.5 stars
This book caught my daughter’s attention because of the animals. The story starts out cute but by the end my daughter had questions that the book just left unanswered. She wanted to know “what the insect that flew into his throat had to do with him. He still “sang” like normal. Also, what will an animal do with money when they win?” That was just a child's perspective.

I do agree with the message behind the story – be yourself & believe in yourself. The illustrations are lovely, but the story was just so-so.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, & the author for voluntarily letting me read this book and give an honest review.

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Coco the Mooing Horse is an illustrated story that uses a form of anagrams to construct content. Coco is unique. An older horse, he is happy to moo along each day, even if it's irritating to almost all the animals on the farm. (Cows find him amusing.) He is self-confidant. He decides to enter a competition and sticks to his dream despite being mocked by others.
I received an e-copy of this sweet book from Poppy Oak Press via NetGalley. This is my own unsolicited opinion about it. I think it is adorable.
I feel that it has three lessons for children. The first being that you can be different, to follow your heart and have a dream to try for. I love that Coco pushes forward and follows his dream even when he is made fun of.
Second, the child learns about anagrams. The reader can seek out anagrams in the story derived from the words, "common cold" and related words such as runny nose, cough, etc. This is from a technique called, "Healing Anagrams". The author, Leila Summers is a "Heal Your Life" teacher. She has a website address in the back of the book along with a list of anagrams the reader may go back into the story to find. I like the idea of taking an illness or problem, choosing a word or two to describe it and make anagrams from the phrase. It seems to be a good distraction.
Third, the reader can enjoy making up funny stories using anagrams for an enjoyable challenge. The book offers a chance to enter a contest to possibly win a book. This to me would make for a great rainy day or vacation activity.
Oleysa Burina is the illustrator of the book. The pictures have a soft look to them. Coco is a standout character with his jaunty hat and scarf. The pictures of animals are pleasing and comical at once. One character stands out to me as a companion to Coco. It's cute and unexpected, I think.
This is a book I would buy for my grandchildren. I think it's a keeper. I give it a 4.8 out of 5 stars.

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I loved this book. It was perfectly well written and beautifully illustrated. I cannot wait to read it to my daughter when I get home!

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Picture book about a horse that moos. Very wordy without being super catchy. Similar to other books and does not stand out as anything special.

The personal touch of the author's story is nice but not really for elementary kiddos.

Thank you to Net Galley and Books Go Social for the eARC.

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I loved this book!
There is nothing better than reading a book to a child with the moral of never giving up their hopes and dreams and that is exactly what Coco the Mooing Horse is about!

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This is a beautiful short story about doing what you love, despite what others think or say and following your dreams. I love how it is written and I love the beautiful drawings that make it complete. Highly recommend!

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A very sweet little take about finding your dreams and stopping at nothing to make them come true. Even if your friends don’t believe in you, it worries most if you believe in yourself. Kids will appreciate the message and the fun, slightly silly story it comes in.

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Thank you to Net Galley for an e-copy of Coco the Mooing Horse by Leila Summers in exchange for a honest review.This is a great book about not giving up on your dreams even when others laugh at you.Coco the horse moos and he wants to win a singing contest.. Can he show others that what is most important in life is persevering even when things don’t go your way.Perfect life lesson for early readers!

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This is a delightful story about a horse named Coco who loves to moo, and does! Despite most of the other creatures being confused about it and sometimes making fun of it, he keeps right on and eventually he enters a contest, is almost thwarted by a fly but he trusts himself and soon wins everyone over with his lowing!

The story was sweet, the illustrations are lovely and the overall message from the writer - about using anagrams to offer yourself a different perspective on whatever you’re going through and how it can impact your mindset, was something that my littles ones and I had a good time exploring. It’ll certainly be an exercise we employ again and again.

We loved Coco’s jaunty style, that he didn’t let anyone get him down and that he’s happy to move to the beat of his own drum!

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-copy of Coco the Mooing Horse by Leila Summers.

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A very cute story about never giving up on your dreams and always following your heart. The illustrations were adorable. I read with my 7 year old, and she enjoyed it too!

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4/5 Stars! Thank you, NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this eARC of Coco the Mooing Horse by Leila Summers.

An easy read for my kids. I probably would not read this to them until they are a little older only because my 3 year old was really confused on why the horse was saying "moo" haha. The look on his face was very concerning haha but he understood towards the end of the book haha. Very silly and a cute/sweet message to little ones. The illustrations are beautiful and lots of giggles with this book.

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That was...strange. I appreciate what the author was trying to say, but the execution was unfortunately lacking. The story felt very bloated and overly contrived. Sorry, I was not a fan.

The illustrations were very cute, though!

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This was a really cute story! The message was subtle but still easy to understand. My four year old really enjoyed it and my seven year old even came over to listen. The illustrations were very very cute.

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Follow Coco the Mooing Horse as they get involved in a local gig.

What an endearing story about being true to who you are. There is nothing wrong with being unique and you should embrace it.

The illustrations throughout the book were colourful and brought the story to life.

It’s a lovely story but I feel the anagram aspect will go over a lot of children’s heads.

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A Mooing Horse? I knew that would make for a fun book. Poor Coco who mooed was ignored by the other animals because they thought him annoying and sometimes he was so loud they'd run and hide. Till one day he heard about an audition and he thought he might become a star.
He competes and wins for his beautiful moos. So now rather than being ignored or made fun of, he is a hero and icon.
Great story to be yourself and follow your dreams with fun illustrations.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

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Coco doesn't get my vote. It wasn't a great read, and the illustration was decent but nothing that blew me away. There were a lot of references in the book that seemed to be British colloquialisms and would not necessarily resonate with a global audience quite to the same extent. I found myself wanting the language to be simplified or tailored more to the target demographic. The story itself is good in the sense that it's about a horse who doesn't follow the mold and does what she wants. But some elements of the story just didn't line up. The competition, where she suddenly couldn't moo - the bee was the cause seemed unclear - was a good addition to start but not sure on how it was executed. I mean, where did Coco get the money to enter the contest in the first place? And then, what was he going to do with the pot of money at the end. And why is it being judged by animals who, again, have no use for money. Ugh.

I guess that this would be ok for a young reader but I would not go out of my way to pick it up from the store and, if I had bought it, I'm pretty sure I would have been really disappointed and not added it my collection of classic picture books. There are better stories that cover this topic. And I really wanted to like this one.

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A fun book about striving for your ambitions and embracing your differences. Fun and well written with comforting and beautifully rendered illustrations.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Cute! Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for access to a digital review copy of this title. I thought this was a great short story about taking something that makes you special and really letting it shine. The story was linear, simple to understand and entertaining. This title would be good for ages 5 and up. I enjoyed the anagram lists at the end of the book - helpful for homeschooling! The illustrations were inviting and complementary to the story. Topics were a bit too advanced for a younger audience.

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