Something to Tell the Grandcows - Hardcover

Spinelli, Eileen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080285236X ISBN 13: 9780802852366

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004

Synopsis

When Emmadine the cow learned that Admiral Richard E. Byrd was looking for a few good cows to take to the South Pole, she volunteered — boldly going where no cow had gone before.

Loosely based on a historical event, Eileen Spinelli's humorous tale of Emmadine's adventures will delight young readers, while Bill Slavin's bold acrylic illustrations bring this unique and heroic cow to life.

About this title

About the Author:

Eileen Spinelli’s love of books began at age five, during her first visit to the local public library. “I climbed up the steps to the children’s room on the second floor and into a wonderland! Books everywhere . . . I didn’t know which book to grab first,” she explains. “It made no difference to me that I couldn’t read.” After that, young Eileen visited the library every Saturday with her mother. After a few years of library visits, she knew she wanted to become a writer.

Eileen is the author of over thirty-five picture books and novels, including Something to Tell the Grandcows (Eerdmans) and When Mama Comes Home Tonight (Simon and Schuster). She and Mary Newell DePalma collaborated on the book Now It Is Winter (Eerdmans), which was named a Bank Street College Best Children’s Book. Eileen lives in Pennsylvania.

Bill Slavin has been writing and drawing since he was seven years old and has illustrated many books for children, including Gonzalo Grabs the Good Life and Something to Tell the Grandcows (both Eerdmans). He has received numerous awards, including the Blue Spruce Award and the CLC Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s medal, both for his book Stanley’s Party. Bill lives in Ontario.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 4--Just as Emmadine is bemoaning the lack of exciting tales to tell her grandcows, she hears that Admiral Richard E. Byrd is looking for a few good bovines for an expedition. Emmadine volunteers, and, along with 2 other cows, 153 dogs, and 56 explorers, heads for the South Pole in October 1933. After weeks of seasickness, she arrives at "the coldest place on earth," where her "teeth chattered like spoons." Wrapped in a scarf, her warmest socks, and a striped "uddermuff," she faces the cold and darkness, sees seals and penguins, teaches the other cows and the herdsman to dance, and stores away her fantastic experiences to share with her offspring when she returns home. The author takes a true event (Byrd really did take cows on one of his expeditions) and describes it from a unique point of view. Slavin's artwork, done in acrylics on gessoed paper, perfectly captures this delightful bovine, whose upbeat personality shines in the single- and double-page paintings. Emmadine is at her worst when seasick and at her most vivacious when she kicks up her heels with the herdsman. Older readers can use the Byrd tie-in as an excuse to laugh their way through this picture-book adventure, while younger children will appreciate the humor even if they know nothing about polar exploration.--Carolyn Janssen, Children's Learning Center of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
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About this edition

• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 080285236X
• ISBN 13: 9780802852366
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Slavin Bill