George Washington's Cows

by David Small

"George Washington's cows were kept upstairs,
And given their own special room.
They never were seen by light of day.
No matter for what or by whom."

These cows are just the beginning of George's problems. To be sure, his hogs are helpful around the house, but it irks Martha when their parties are better than hers. And then there are the sheep--all of them smarter than Tom Jefferson, with degrees (no to say "sheepskins") to prove it. What's a Father of his country to do?

David Smalll puts a hilariously sticky fingerprint on the well-polished veneer of American history, showing readers what really went on in the home of our first President.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Humor, History, Storytime, Biography

40 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

David Small is the recipient of the Caldecott Medal, a Christopher Medal, and the E. B. White Award for his picture books, which include Imogene's Antlers, The Gardener, and So, You Want to Be President? He lives in Mendon, Michigan.

Reviews

[sincerely · Rating 5 out of 5]

hilarious and loveeee the vocabulary!

[Chrisanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice punch line. Though I do think it walks a fine line regarding the real people who worked in his kitchen.

[Kristin Hodge · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so cute and funny then ended with …. All George Washington’s animals were smarter than him so he said “Sell the farm, I’ll try politics!”

……..

Wuttttt. As my friend said when I told her this, “your found father was a dumbass kids. Good night!”

What a disappointing ending.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me say first of all that I love David Small's illustrations. Truly. These are wonderful. I was pulling books on George Washington and Abraham Lincoln this morning since their birthdays are coming up. I kept this one aside to read because, as I said, I love David Small's illustrations. Needless to say, it did not make the President's Day shelf in the library--our kids would probably think it was "for realz!"

Personally, I would've liked this book more if the title character was fictional rather than a historical figure. Of course, then Small would've had to change the punch line. This is silly, fun, and funny, but I'm not sure kids will get the joke at the end. Seriously, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if a kid tried to use this as part of a biography report! :)

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

We loved this very silly fictional story about George Washington. There isn't much point to it, but the illustrations are cute and the rhyme is very funny.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with a class today, and it's a funny, quirky tale about the farm of our first president accompanied by outlandish and hilarious illustrations. George's cows must wear lavender dresses and will only give milk if they are pleaded with. His pigs clean the house and serve the guests, and his sheep are scholars who measure the ocean with a stick. No wonder poor George decided to try his hand at politics. I highly recommend this book as a classroom read aloud or a book for parents and children to read together or as a book for beginning readers. It's also perfect for President's Day.

[Brandi Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book about George Washington’s farm animals and how they lived in the house. It starts with the cows and how finicky they were, and then moves to pigs and sheep. It’s fun to see how the animals are able to keep the Washington house running even though they may only have hooves.
I chose this book because I love historical pieces, plus it has animals doing human things. The grade level I would choose for this book would be 1st-3rd grade. I would use this book in a reading classroom by discussing the time period and what they may have looked like, and how closely to do the time periods align in the story vs reality.
Genre: Historical

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Washington's farm animals are a piece of work (the cows are too prissy, the pigs too subservient, the sheep too learned) and it causes him to sail away:
"Then bundling into his wool underwear, he ferried across the cold Delaware, and muttered in tones of deepest despair: 'Sell the farm, I'll try politics!"

The whole time, I kept wondering what the point of the book was. I guess it was somewhat humorous, but I feel like it must be lost on most kids.

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book every year for President's day week. I think the younger students love it and see some of the humor, but it's also fun to read with older students so they can see how background knowledge might make the humor more humorous. I cannot express how much I love this book. I think it's right up there with "A great big ugly man came up and tied his horse to me" by Wallace Trip.

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a book about George Washington’s cows 🤷‍♀️ but it was actually a silly rhyming story about his inability to manage his cows, pigs, & sheep so he sold the farm & tried politics instead 🙃 The illustrations were great & it was funny, just not what I was expecting 🤷‍♀️

[Michelle Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just some silly good times, in the vein of Brad Neely's George Washington rap or literally any Drunk History story featuring the founding fathers. Like, if we can't be silly about George Washington, the American Democratic Experiment has failed.

Also, I love David Small's illustration style.

[Jessica Pinnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this fun way to learn about something from the past

[Mat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this with my girls. The artwork is great!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious illustrations. Silly story. Lovely vocabulary. Great for car ReadAlongs.

[Grace]

THE ILLUSTRATIONS
THE RHYME
FANTASTIC.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is clever and funny. It is entertaining for the whole family! Great wordplay and the illustrations are spot on!

[Sarah Hanratty · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute for a kids book, I was reading it with a 5 year old. Animals doing silly things, only this time it was in colonial costumes.

[Leah]

Pick it up if you want a strange read/twist. Kinda funny actually.

[Laralee Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful! I loved the rhythm, the illustrations, and the silliness.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was particularly grating to me. Nothing redeeming about it.

[Becky Pendleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read

[Emily Gerstenschlager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Date read May 25, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Grade: 3rd
I think this is a great book to add to a lesson about George Washington. It has good personification of the animals that George Washington owns, which helps to describe the way life was when Washington was president. I think there can be a lot of good discussion surrounding this book by looking at the pictures, what they wear, how things are done, and what they do throughout the story. I think the children will also be entertained by the animals dressing up and acting like people, which will make them laugh.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: This book is about all the animals on George Washington's farm. Each group of animals does different humanly tasks. At the end of the book George Washington decides that his animals are all crazy and he should sell the farm and go into politics.

Evaluation: I found the book to be cute but there were some fairly large words in the text. I wouldn't suggest reading this to young children because you would be stopping to explain words on each page. For older elementary grade students you would use this book as an introduction to studying George Washington and his life before politics. This would also be a great book to discuss personification.

Grade Level: K-2

Publication Year: 1997

Elementary Discussion points:
Language: personification
History: Living on a farm in the 1800's
Life Skills: Being selfish and requiring special things vs. being helpful and plea sent

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suspected this would be silly. I was right. What would one expect from the author of Imogene's Antlers? It took me a few pages to catch the rhyming scheme, but it is a good one. The illustrations are fun--especially to see familiar Mount Vernon areas. I was a bit disturbed by the cows eating cream, but that only lasted a moment. :-) Fun, silly book. I think it would read well for a school-age storytime. Preschoolers might catch some of the humor of the animals' antics if not the George Washington or colonial setting parts.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first page is clearly an illustration of a cow walking through a front door. What could possibly lie ahead for this story!?
The cow proceeds up the stairway. "George Washington's cows were kept upstairs and given their own special room."
Lavender gowns, cushions of silk, hogs, sheep, smart vocabulary and hilarity ensue, as well as a fun rhythm and rhyming scheme.
I came across this book on the same day my cousin delivered an outstanding program on Martha Washington at the Martha Washington Public Library.

[Mrs. Wynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe my rating is due to the fact that I was looking for something not quite so silly, but I didn't care for this book much. George Washington keeping cows upstairs in the bedroom, dressing up in the day's fashion? Pigs, sheep, etc all pretending to be people? Just didn't make sense to me. I guess I saw a book that was maybe historical fiction, and it turned out to be a joke. I wasn't laughing, sorry.

[Shelby Usrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting. David Small's illustrations were humorous and very detail, which I loved. It is an exciting read and something children could adore simply because of the illustrations and the use of animals. It could a book that could jump start a history lesson explaining the presidents. I feel like this book could be enjoyed by a majority of any classroom, any age.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful fantasy about George Washington's farm where the cows wear dresses, the pigs wear wigs, and the sheep are scholars. Wonderful paintings begin with the cover, include the endpapers and title pages, and contribute to telling the story from beginning to end. I got to see the original artwork displayed at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and my copy is an autographed first edition, 1994.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

35 months - We absolutely love David Small's illustrations and I've been slowly borrowing all the books he's illustrated. This story is quite bizarre and funny although a bit over the head of O. Interesting rhyming scheme, not the typical for a kids book which is a nice change.

[Sam Bloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do I call this non-fiction? Hard to say, because I think it's all hogwash, but this book is pretty funny nonetheless.