Cows Going Past (Dial Books for Young Readers)
by Bruce Balan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bruce BalanIllustrator: Scott Nash
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-05-19
ISBN: 0803729022
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Dial
Book Reviews of Cows Going Past (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Book Review: The Tao of Cow
Summary: 5 Stars
A legendary three-panel "Far Side" episode begins with a herd of cattle standing upright, like humans, in a roadside meadow, talking. One steer, the lookout, yells, "CAR!" and the kine quickly get down on all fours and graze at clover. Once the car has passed, they resume their bipedal socializing. Was Gary Larson right? Are cattle really "onto" us? If your child is a city kid or a 'burb brat, she or he may never have seen cows and bulls except for the occasional fleeting glance out the car window during a family outing. She or he could easily be forgiven the impression that they are as stolid as they are solid. Sedentary. Subordinate. Stupid. Bruce Balen and illustrator Scott Nash want to banish our cowhidebound preconceptions about bovinity.
Their new children's picture book "Cows Going Past" might as easily have been titled "No Bull," but the entire cast is female. They might not all look overly feminine, but cows are cows, and cows are female. (Where are the fellas? Possibly they're all off at Wrestlemania or at a tractor pull somewhere.) Another preconception we are implicitly asked to readdress is our notion that cows are endowed with, um, udders. *These* cows are strictly dairy-free. This is not because Mr. Nash is nescient of dugs anatomy, for the cow diva of the Nash-illustrated "Over the Moon" was udderly magnificent. I can only conclude that since Janet Jackson's Superbowl surprise, the forces of repression and censorship have prevailed. Regrettable, but hardly ruinous.
For "Cows Going Past" is one lively celebration of livestock. Very simple, very brief text, ideal for beginning readers. Understand this: the cows depicted therein are by no means your stereotypical dull, ruminative ungulates, stoically waiting out their prehamburger days, languidly tongueing salt licks, masticating cuds, caudally flagellating flies. These cows are pro-active. They're living in the moment. Feeling their oats. They're not abattoir-obsessed, no sir. No slaughterhouse jive for *these* Jersey girls. They're movers. They're shakers. Comfortable in their hide. They push lawnmowers. They indulge in giddy pastoral terpischore. They get in your face. They play softball. They disport at the seashore (after applying sunblock -- cows have understandable cause to be terrified of "leathery" skin). They rock out in combos.
All of this bovid activity is witnessed by a young boy from the vantage point of the backseat of his parents' sedan. By and by, evening descends, and a prolonged period of crepuscular farewells ensues. The book gently shades into what we might call "Goodnight Moo!" Safely home and in bed, buzzed after his exhilarating exposure to vivacious cowry, he slips into slumberland.
Will "Cows Going Past" function as a toddler sedative, as perhaps it is intended to? Or will it stimulate kids into the dread wide-eyed "read it again, Mommy!!" mode? Maybe the latter, but the book is brevity itself, so despair not.
"Cows Going Past" is a neat story. Literally.
Summary of Cows Going Past (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Come along for a ride and see the most entertaining, surprising cows you could ever imagine.Cows fishing, cows playing mini golf, cows mowing the lawn. . . .There are plenty of amusements in this book full of whimsy and cheer. It will remind you of Sandra Boynton and Go, Dog, Go, but with wordplay and visual humor all its own.This is a sprightly, friendly charmer that will please any toddler.Farm Animals Books
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