Jan Huling uses similes to compare the animal to a horrible sounding instrument. Even though they may have sounded terrible, they were still a band and still tried to make it to New Orleans. Then, they found a cabin and ran the thieves out, so they claimed the cabin and decided to retire there instead. ( )

I enjoyed the southern drawl that the story is told in. Farmer Brown was going to kill Ol' Bloo Donkey because he was getting too old to world. He wouldn't have that so he ran away. Ol' Bloo Donkey decided to go down to New Orleans to become a singer and finds some friends along the way. They stumble upon a cabin occupied with thieves. They decide to perform for them but cause a ruckus outside which scared them away. One thief went back to the cabin and his world was turned upside down when he woke up the animals. With the thieves gone, they all decided to retire to the cabin in the woods.
This was my favorite book that I have read all semester. I loved the illustrations and the accents of the animals. This was such a creative and fun book. I shared it with my mom and we had fun with the accents. She loved it as well. ( )

After being feared that his owner was going to kill him Ol'Bloo Donkey decided to leave his home and head to New Orleans to become a singer. Along the way to New Orleans he meets up with Gnarly Dog, One Eyed Lemony Cat, and Rusty Red Rooster. These four animals decide to start up their own singing quartet. The quartet never makes it to New Orleans, instead they find a home in a place they never expected. This was a very fun book to read. There was some repition in the book which made it fun for young readers. This would be a great book to read when discussing fiction and non-fiction. ( )

In danger of being put out of his misery by his master, Ol’ Bloo Donkey decides to head on down to New Orleans where folks have a keen appreciation of music, like his “beee-yooo-ti-ful singin’ voice.” On his way he encounters Gnarly Dog, One-Eyed Lemony Cat, and Rusty Red Rooster, who are in similar straits, and join with him in his endeavor. But then an encounter with “three rough, tough, ugly-lookin’ thieves” in a cabin make the trip unnecessary.

Huling’s excellent adaption and retelling of the Grimms’ tale of Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (The Bremen Town Musicians) set “out where the great states of Louisiana and Texas rub shoulders” does for Louisiana and East Texas what her Puss in Cowboy Boots did for West Texas, take a European tale and perfectly translate it into an American idiom. ( )

In this heartwarming tale, four outcasted animals form a blues ensemble with hopes of striking it big in New Orleans. By combining their talents, they teach a band of thieves a lesson.

The illustrations are unique, and Jan Huling makes readers fall in love with the four animal characters. ( )