Find a Cow Now!

by Janet Stevens, Susan Stevens Crummel

Overview

Ruff! Ruff! Yip! Yip! Dog is rounding up whatever he can find in his urban apartment, even chairs. He is also driving his bird companion crazy with the commotion. Bird sends him to the countryside to find something more appropriate to herd, such as a cow. but since Dog has never seen a cow, he finds all the wrong animals. After being pecked by a chicken, spattered with mud by a pig, and walloped by a donkey, Dog needs a friend. By chance a mysterious and kindly animal helps lead him back to the city, only to cause chaos there, before revealing her identity -- as a cow!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823427109
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	09/20/2012
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	33 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Janet Stevens's books have won many awards, including a Caldecott Honor. Her books have been named American Library Association Notable Books. She wrote this book with her sister, Susan, and created all the illustrations herself. She is the illustrator of the popular Anansi books written by Eric A. Kimmel. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Susan Stevens Crummel has written many best-selling picture books with her sister, Janet. These marvelous books have included a Time magazine's Top 10 Children's Book and winners of the Texas Bluebonnet Award and other state awards. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

Editorial Reviews

Tired of the commotion caused by an antsy house dog, a pet bird persuades the canine that he should head to the country to herd cows (never mind that neither of these city slickers knows what a cow is). Crummel’s mixed-media artwork gives the story’s familiar barnyard animals ample personality (most of them quite cranky and unpleasant), as Dog mistakes one after another for a cow. An angry chicken glares and claws at Dog, and a donkey, who’s similarly enraged at being confused for a cow, kicks dog with a big “ka-boom.” Stevens’s text, meanwhile, is full of exclamations, repeated phrases, and animal noises that should encourage reader participation: “Dog walked and walked. There it was.... A COW! Ruff! Ruff! Yip! Yip! Yee-haw!” Finally, the discouraged dog unknowingly meets a cow that kindly takes him back home—a short-lived trip after the cow causes chaos on the city streets. The chief source of fun comes from readers knowing more than Dog, but it’s not much compensation in a story in which the only two likable characters are either dimwitted or dull. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

PreS-K—Anyone who has ever had a hyperactive pet will understand Dog's need for a little adventure. When too many naps cause this cattle dog to go stir crazy, Bird shoos him off to the country to find a cow. Stevens's watercolor paintings show Dog's journey from city elevator to wide open spaces as he encounters first a chicken, then a pig, and finally a donkey before lying down dejectedly in the dust. Children will enjoy correcting Dog as he mistakes each of these animals for a bovine and will likely chime in with the corresponding animal noises. Upon seeing the poor defeated Dog, a cow kindly takes pity on him and helps him find his way back to the city. After being shooed back outside the city limits by alarmed urbanites yelling things like, "eee-eee-kkk!!" and "Call the POLICE!!!," Dog finally learns that his helpful friend is indeed the cow he's been searching for. After such a long and exciting adventure, Dog decides he's finally ready for one of those naps again. This simple and engaging story is well told, but it is the vibrant and energetic artwork that makes it stand out in a crowd.—Jenna Boles, Washington-Centerville Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

When Bird sends restless Dog to the country to find a cow to herd, the result is a comical series of misidentifications and an exhausting trip. The Stevens sisters (Help Me, Mr. Mutt, 2008, etc.) return with another appealing animal adventure. After Dog mistakenly tries to herd a chicken, a pig and an ill-tempered donkey, he's rescued by a large brown-and-white animal who takes him back to the city. Only after surprised city dwellers send them back out to the country does Dog discover that the helpful creature is called Cow. The enthusiastic but slightly dim-witted Australian cattle dog and exasperated budgie are generically named but realistically depicted in Stevens' illustrations, rendered in soft acrylic washes over pencil combined with collage. From vignettes to double-page spreads, they tell the story as unmistakably as the simple text. The animals' postures express their emotions, while sounds--from "Cluck cluck! Peck peck!" to "Yip! Yip! Yee-haw!" and "Eee-eee-kkk!!"--add read-aloud interest to the pictures. Even the direction of Dog's travel is clear: from left to right as he goes from city to country, and right to left returning. The circular narrative, which opens with Dog napping, ends with the dog-tired traveler asleep again. Skillfully told and satisfying, this is sure to delight young listeners in on the joke. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews