It's Milking Time by Phyllis Alsdurf & Illus by Steve Johnson

This sweet little book is mostly just a nostalgic delight for me. Dairy farms were my childhood. 

Cow hide! 

A little farm girl heading out to get the cows.

Coming into the barn. 

We had one machine like this at some point, but it wasn't the typical kind. 

One thing I loved about farm life was working with my dad and brothers and sisters. We didn't always have deep conversations at 5 AM. But there is something about working together, being part of a team that makes you close somehow. We didn't dwell on that, since we weren't prone to heart to heart chats, but it just was. And I think it is part of the reason we are still close today. 

This book works through all the different parts of farm life, but older farms. Living in Amish country, we see those cans still in use everyday, but most non-Amish hasn't used them in ages. 

Feeding the calves was generally my job as the milker. Sometimes it was really obnoxious and dirty, but sometimes, it was calm and delightful. 

Calves are rather lovable. Or at least some are. There were a lot of dumb cows that came through our barns, but calves are so big eyed and excited it is hard not to love them. 

Swooping swallows and sunsets.

The washing up

And the heading back in. 

I loved walking from the barn to the house. The lights on, knowing there was supper, warmth, a shower, and bed. 

14 Cows For America by Carmen Agra Deedy & Illus by Thomas Gonzalez

I didn't know this story whatsoever until I found this book on my library shelf. 

This is the true story of how the Maasi people of Kenya responded to the September 11 attacks so many thousands of miles from them. 

Kimeli is walking home to his village as he returns for a visit from learning to be a doctor in New York.

He is greeted by all the children first

The Maasai treat their cows like they treat their children

To the Maasai, the cow is life.

I love cows. I am always prejudiced in anyone's favor who values cows. 

A mother's welcome

I really, really love the illustration, their exuberance, their ochre tinge, their detail!

Kimeli begins to tell a story that has burnt a hole in his heart. 

The story of September 11

He reminds them that to the Maasai, the cow is life. And he offers his cow to the people of America who have been hurt so deeply by these attacks.

The American ambassador from Nairobi is invited to a ceremony

Where he is give 14 cows for America.

Because there is no nation so powerful that it cannot be wounded,

nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort. 

Mic drop. 

I tear up EVERY TIME I read this page. 

When I am reading this book to students, I can tell some of them are a little confused. What would people in New York City do with cows? Why would these people offer them to us? It is similar to when you are sad about something and your little brother or sister brings a toy that is precious to themselves for you to play with. You might not really need or particularly want that toy, but knowing the love with which it was given, you feel a little better--your heart hurts a little less. You know you are loved.

The cows were never sent to America; they reside at the American embassy in Nairobi. America really didn't need the cows. But we desperately needed the message that was sent with these cows--"We are with you. We care. We want to give you life."

A Cow's Alfalfa-bet by Woody Jackson

Growing  up as a dairy farmer's daughter in the 1990's, Woody Jackson was kind of everything. We had t-shirts with his art, mugs with his art, and prints of his art. 

When I grew up enough to get nostalgic for this kind of thing, I discovered that he had a few kids books of his art. Must. Buy. 

Most people probably know him as the artist for Ben and Jerry's ice cream, but to us, he was a kind of chronicler of our cows and farm. Unfortunately we didn't have quite the mountains that Vermont does for a backdrop, but still, a northern dairy farm was pretty much us.  

This is an alphabet book, so for each letter there is an illustrated picture. 

Color is a big part of the appeal in his art. 

Oh the moon on summer nights...!

Bright yellow barns? Why not? 

There is no plot, but I LOVE THIS BOOK. 

This is one kids book that I will probably always have on my shelf. 

Cowboy Andy by Edna Walker Chandler & Illus by E. Raymond Kintsler

This is one of those easy reader books that I remember from my childhood--the easy reader book heyday of the late 1980's. 

Pretty sure this was the first book my sister ever read. It was also the first book my son ever read. 

It has staying power. At least in my family. 

The problems in easy reader books are straightforward. 

Andy is a city boy, but wants to be a cowboy. 

His dad writes a handy cowboy friend to take on Andy and make him into a cowboy. 

We have a ready villain in Cook. He is determined the entire thing will be a disaster. 

A little conflict is so important in moving easy reader plots along.  

Andy gets to Sam's Ranch. There is no fooling around with ranch names here. It belongs to Sam, so it is Sam's ranch. No reason to complicate things, folks. 

Cook's scowl. 

Man to man chats under the full moon. 

Andy setting off to be a cowboy. 

Now was the time to show Cook that he could be a cowboy.

You show 'em, Andy!

There are several necessary disasters and setbacks in his quest where Cook says things like "See? I told you so. Andy will never be a cowboy." And finally, Andy wins the calf riding event at the rodeo. And Cook concedes that Andy is a really honest to goodness cowboy. 

See? Life might seem complex, but it isn't. An easy reader can sort it in 60 short, picture filled pages. 

January 5 & January 13 by Julie Fogliano & Illus by Julie Morstad

January 5 

i would not mind, at all

to fall

if i could fall

like snowflakes

(more drift and swirl

than tumble thump

more gentle float

than ouch and bump)

the most perfect way of all

to fall

is to fall

 and fall 

like snowflakes.

January 13

other than the cows

everyone has gone

either into or underneath

curled up and covered

but the cows just stand

black and blinking

not noticing that it is cold

and snowing

and everyone has gone. 

                                                                             --from When Green Becomes Tomatoes

Keep warm, my friends! We had a cold snowday today. Our windchill was -38 this morning, so none of the local schools were open.

My brother's and father's cows, amazingly, are not too fazed by this weather. They huddle together, find a windbreak, and ask only to have more food. Cows are amazing. And so enduring. I kind of love cows. 

A Calf is Born by Kiyonori Kaizuki

I was searching for a book that was never found in the library recently when I saw a book with "A Calf is Born" on the spine. I was expecting a photographic dissertation on the process, but instead, I found this sweet watercolor delight. 

My nice plastic cows. I always pine for expensive wooden ones, but then I realize I could buy four or five books for the price of one little wooden cow (no, seriously) and I stick with my random assortment of plastic animals from who knows where. I think this calf was from Grandma and the cow was from a jumble at the thrift store. They do match the brown nicely. 

Of course, I grew up on a farm, my brother is a farmer, my Dad is a farmer, my father-in-law is a rancher, so I am a teensy bit obsessed with cows. Not the kind of obsession that leads to checked wallpaper borders with cows sprinkled throughout or the like, but still, obsessed. So my delight at this book might not be shared by all my five loyal readers. 

Barnyard in the moonlight! 

A calf being born. Right there. 

Unless you are cool with questions about this process or your kids have seen this happen enough that they know that is just how it happens, you might want to avoid this. Because that is totally fascinating. Whaaaat? Babies come how?! I felt like that after giving birth for the first time--WHY did that happen like that? 

On a side note, as a farmer, my normally easily embarrassed brother discusses birth and babies quite naturally. One day he was discussing with my sister how beneficial her Raisin Bran habit probably was to her milk production. This from the guy who blushes when someone says "Fallopian tube." The downside was that he compared my sister-in-law's pregnancies to a cow each time."Well with a cow..." She quickly grew tired of that. 

Licking the baby

Trying to stand. I love pictures of calves!!

Then the calf wanders out to observe the world. 

But something is wrong with the calf. 

The vet soon puts that right. Actually, I don't really know what is wrong with the calf. I am used to know cow's ailments, but I am clueless here. 

Also, this is when I realized this book was actually written in Japan. I had just assumed the author was American. 

I mean, this looks so like a bajillion pictures I have seen of the American West. Apparently Japan has places like this. Who knew? This should not be surprising to me, since I learned about Kobe beef in Animal Science class in college. Still, I think of Japan having a higher population density that wouldn't allow for these kind of expanses. 

It makes me happy that Japan has wide open spaces like this. And that they put cows in those spaces. It is the right and proper thing to do with spaces. (Don't mind me inflicting my love of bovine to other cultures.)

Drinking.

The novelty of the world! 

Spring is coming!

And finally, the calf settles down with his mother to discuss the day. 

Happiness!