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Author: Karma Wilson (website)
Illustrator: Marcellus Hall (website)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Year: 2010
ISBN: 978-1416942061
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 40
Age Range: Toddler, Preschooler, Early Reader
Kid Love Factor: 5/5
Adult Sanity Factor: 4/5
Having adored Bear Snores On, when I saw The Cow Loves Cookies reviewed at The Kiddosphere, I had to request it right away from our library. Once it arrived, we quickly discovered that Karma Wilson has again struck gold, at least in our house.
Whenever Farmer feeds the horse,
he feeds the horsey hay of course.
The horse just loves to nibble hay.
He eats it every single day.
But the cow loves cookies.
The book adds a new animal every ‘verse’ (horse, chickens, geese, pigs, dog), and remunerates the previous ones before repeating that the cow loves cookies. After all the animals and their favoured foods have been mentioned, we learn exactly why the cow loves cookies. You see, she and Farmer have a deal…
It’s told in an AABB(C) rhyming scheme with Karma Wilson’s impeccable sense of rhythm and metre. And Marcellus Hall, better known for his work in The New Yorker, brings the story to life with simple but elegant water colour.
We took this out of the library a week ago. Not only does Boo, with his prodigious recall, have it memorized, but so do I. That’s how often we’ve read it. And I don’t hate it yet, hence the high-scoring Adult Sanity Factor.
I have a bit of a cookie-loving fiend in my house, (I won't mention any names [Psst: it starts with "B" and ends with "oo"]), but I’m pretty sure this book will appeal even if you’re not so baked treat inclined. Though perhaps you won’t have the problem of your two-year-old suddenly being able to sight-read the C-word in random advertisements…time to whip up some (relatively) healthy homemade ones!
Autism Spectrum Bonus: Much like Bear Snores On, the oft-repeated chorus of “But the cow loves cookies” may draw out verbalizations or at least anticipatory grins if you pause before reading the line. There are plenty of farm animals to imitate as well. For somewhat older kids, you can likely start a discussion on how every animal on the farm has their preferred food and how they’re all different from each other. I’d be careful if you’ve got an overly picky eater, though. Each animal loves one particular food and eats it all the time. You might not want to call that to the attention of any chicken-nugget-and-nothing-else eaters you may or may not have in your household. The interaction between the cow and the farmer is a lovely example of how a friendship can lead to sharing interests and preferences, or how shared interests can lead to friendship. And if you’ve got a pun-loving Aspergian in your house, the final line might make them quack up!
Bottom Line:
Boo just loves his cookie book.
He cracks it open for a look,
about two dozen times a day.
But hey, at least it makes him say:"The cow loooooves cookies!”
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I'm going to call our library today and see if they have it. Any book with rhymes and cookies is a winner in my house :-)
ReplyDeletethanks!! Man, I love your blog.
alysia
I definitely recommend it, in case the gushing praise didn't make that obvious. We'll be buying a copy in the near future. Because Boo's bookshelves aren't overflowing already...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment! I'm thrilled you like the blog. I'm a fan of yours. :)
I can't wait to get my hands on this! I have to put in a request through our library, the local on doesn't have it, but the bigger one a town away does - yay!
ReplyDeleteI have this book on hold at our library. Cows are a huge hit in our home and so are cookies so I'm sure the book will be popular here.
ReplyDelete@Rebecca - And you'll have another excuse to use that snazzy new cookie sheet!
ReplyDelete@Brimful Curiosities - Hope it arrives soon and that your kids love it. :)