Cows in the Kitchen - Hardcover

June Crebbin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0744596998 ISBN 13: 9780744596991

Publisher: Walker Childrens Hardbacks, 2003

Synopsis

An exuberant rhyming board book based on a favourite children's song. Cows in the kitchen, ducks on the dresser, pigs in the pantry, hens on the hatstand, sheep on the sofa...While the farmer snoozes in the haystack, the animals are making merry in the farmhouse! Based on the rhythm and tune of the traditional "Flies in the Buttermilk", this is a picture book to be read or sung aloud with gusto! * Adapted from a traditional nonsense song this rumbustious, robust board book is perfect for reading - or singing! - aloud. * Irrepressibly vibrant and comic illustrations.

About this title

About the Author

June Crebbin was a primary school teacher for thirty years before taking early retirement in order to concentrate full-time on her writing. She is the author of a number of books for children, including several Read Me Walker story books; Fly By Night; Danny's Duck; Into the Castle; The Train Ride; and a number of books for older readers. A frequent visitor to primary schools, where she gives readings, talks and workshops, June Crebbin lives in Leicestershire with her husband. Katharine McEwen is the illustrator of Allan Ahlberg's early reader series about the Gaskitts: The Man Who Wore All His Clothes, The Woman Who Won Things and The Cat Who Got Carried Away. She has also illustrated several titles in the Walker Brand New Readers series; the Read Me series; four Sam's Science books and two non-fiction picture books by Meredith Hooper to be published later this year: Sticky Jam and Woolly Jumper.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-K-Mischief-making barnyard animals and a tired farmer interact in this picture book based on a folk song. The rhythmic verses follow the pattern of "Skip to My Lou": "Cows in the kitchen, moo, moo, moo,/Cows in the kitchen, moo, moo, moo,/Cows in the kitchen, moo, moo, moo./That's what we do, Tom Farmer!" The accompanying two-page spread shows three bovines happily breaking dishes, licking food, and balancing items on their horns. The story continues with "ducks in the dishes," "pigs in the pantry," "hens on the hat stand," and "sheep on the sofa." Finally, the animals wake Tom Farmer from his haystack nap. When he shoos them out into the farmyard, they burst into the house again and make as much trouble as before. The story is slight, but the strong rhythm and repetition are sure to invite participation. Watercolor and pencil illustrations catch the spirit of fun. The stiff flatness of the simply drawn animals and the details of their activities are amusing rather than hilarious. Neither words nor pictures match the cleverness of Nadine Westcott's Skip to My Lou (Joy Street, 1989), Nancy Shaw's Sheep in a Jeep (Houghton, 1986), or Rhonda Gowler Greene's Barnyard Song (Atheneum, 1997), but kids will still enjoy this farmyard fracas.
Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, OR
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Walker Childrens Hardbacks
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0744596998
• ISBN 13: 9780744596991
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 24