Our Favorite Doreen Cronin Books and Activities

Farmer Brown's problems REALLY begin when his cows start leaving him notes....

Doreen Cronin’s understated text and Betsy Lewin’s expressive illustrations make the most of this hilarious situation.

Come join the fun as a bunch of literate cows turn Farmer Brown’s farm upside down.

Here is a duck who began in a humble pond.

Who worked his way to farmer. To governor. And now, perhaps, to the highest office in the land.

Some say, if he walks like a duck and talks like a duck, he is a duck.

We say, if he walks like a duck and talks like a duck, he will be the next president of the United States of America.

Meet the Chicken Squad: Dirt, Sugar, Poppy, and Sweetie.

These chicks are not your typical barnyard puffs of fluff, and they are not about to spend their days pecking chicken feed and chasing bugs. No sir, they’re too busy solving mysteries and fighting crime.

So when Squirrel comes barreling into the chicken coop, the chicks know they’re about to get a case. But with his poor knowledge of shapes (“Big” is not a shape, Squirrel!) and utter fear of whatever it is that’s out there, the panicky Squirrel is NO HELP.

Good thing these chicks are professionals. Even professionals get worried. Especially once they see that round, shiny, green, BIG thing in the yard.

It’s up to the Chicken Squad to crack a case that just might be out of this world.

J.J. Tully is a former search-and-rescue dog who is trying to enjoy his retirement after years of performing daring missions saving lives.

So he's not terribly impressed when two chicks named Dirt and Sugar (who look like popcorn on legs) and their chicken mom show up demanding his help to find their missing siblings.

Driven by the promise of a cheeseburger, J.J. begins to track down clues.

Is Vince the Funnel hiding something? Are there dark forces at work — or is J.J. not smelling the evidence that's right in front of him?

Duck and his friends are at it again. But this time they’re trying to win a local talent show, because first prize is a trampoline!

The cows want to sing. The sheep want to sing. The pigs want to...dance. Dance? And Duck?

Duck just wants to win that trampoline. But first he’ll have to handle Farmer Brown.

Dirt, Sugar, Sweetie, and Poppy are the four members of The Chicken Squad, and business is booming.

A weird blue bird has just flown into Chicken Squad headquarters squawking on about a house-napper (yes, house-napper), and it is once again up to the squad to uncover who is up to no good.

But there is something NUTS about this story that the squad can’t quite put their feather on…and oh, brother, is it key to solving the case!

t's time for the annual Corn Maze Festival. The farm is bursting with activity.

Duck builds the ticket booth for the hot-air balloon ride.

Everyone is excited. Well, Duck is not excited exactly. But he has a plan.

As Farmer Brown designs the corn maze for the festival, Duck does some designing of his own. Guess who's in for a big surprise?

It is raining on the farm. Drip-drop, drip-drop. Everyone stays inside, except the cows. The cows like the rain.

Farmer Brown, the chickens, and the mice are worried about them.

Then the wind starts to pick up. Will the cows come home?

Farmer Brown is going on vacation. He asks his brother, Bob, to take care of the animals. “But keep an eye on Duck. He’s trouble.”

Bob follows the instructions in Farmer Brown’s notes exactly. He orders pizza with anchovies for the hens, bathes the pigs with bubble bath, and lets the cows choose a movie.

Is that he giggling he hears? Giggle, gigglequack, giggle, moo,giggle, oink…

The duck, the cows, the hens, and the pigs are back in top form in this hilarious follow-up to the beloved Caldecott Honor Book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.

This hilarious picture book from the bestselling, acclaimed author-illustrator team of Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss tells the adventures of a worm through his daily diary entries.

This is the diary of a worm. This worm lives with his parents, plays with his friends, and even goes to school.

Unlike you or me, he never has to take a bath, he gets to eat his homework, and because he doesn't have legs, he just can't do the hokey pokey — no matter how hard he tries.