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Cows in the House
The little barefoot boy is going crazy living with his five quarreling sisters, until his wise old grandfather offers a clever way to take care of the problem, in a lighthearted folktale with a lesson about contentment.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1998
81 people want to read
About the author
Beverly Lewis
258 books3,042 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Beverly Lewis, raised in Pennsylvania Amish country and both a schoolteacher and an accomplished musician, has been an award-winning author for over a dozen years. Her acclaimed novel, The Preacher's Daughter, was a 2006 Quill Book Award finalist in the romance category. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today and The New York Times. She and her husband, David, live in Colorado."
Beverly Lewis, raised in Pennsylvania Amish country and both a schoolteacher and an accomplished musician, has been an award-winning author for over a dozen years. Her acclaimed novel, The Preacher's Daughter, was a 2006 Quill Book Award finalist in the romance category. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today and The New York Times. She and her husband, David, live in Colorado."
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 23, 2022
A beautiful and original retelling of a classic story, with wonderful artwork to support it. The message is clear: We need to be grateful for what we have, for it could always be worse.
April 2019 ... read this to a 3rd grade class, and a couple of them seemed to understand it's message.
October 2022 ... still love this story
April 2019 ... read this to a 3rd grade class, and a couple of them seemed to understand it's message.
October 2022 ... still love this story
May 3, 2019
://patriciatimbrook.wordpress.com/2019/0...
COWS in the HOUSE by Beverly Lewis, Illustrated by Chi Chung
Published in 1998 by Bethany House Publishers
Children’s Book Reviewer, Mrs. Patricia Ann Timbrook, PatSays, May 3, 2019
When does a fairy tale come from Thailand, that also comes from Christian author Beverly Lewis? It comes in the form of COWS in the HOUSE, a children’s picture book that’s a retelling tale from this renown children’s book author.
In almost 900 words, the legend of a barefoot boy begins with the familiar fairy tale format, ‘Once Upon a Time,” an opening that automatically distances the reader from the story: Barefoot boy is upset and has no peace in the family household, because of the noise from his five “quarreling sisters.” So, he visits his Great-Grandfather and asks for his wisdom in how to rid the house of the noise. Barefoot boy does not like Great-Grandfather’s ideas: Number 1: Bring five cows into the house; but, that does not work. Number two: Bring in five spoiled cousins; but, that does not work, either. Number three: Pay six musicians to play their instruments in the house. Not any help at all! In fact, instead of eliminating the noise of his quarreling sisters, the noise level grows worse, resulting in barefoot boy becoming even more distressed. Finally, Great-Grandfather tells him to go home and begin removing each of the added “house guests,” (starting with the cows). Whenever barefoot boy does so, the noise level goes back to the way it was originally, with five quarreling sisters. However, this time, instead of complaining, barefoot boy finds that he can sleep calmly once more—hence, the “happily ever after” ending.
The author’s many book series include topics of love, relationships, and family life of young ladies growing up in Amish culture, the same culture about which Lewis, who grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, writes authoritatively for Chrisitan publishing houses. For many years, Beverly Lewis has reigned over the Bethany House Publishing kingdom, culminating over 80 children’s books on the market today. For Cows in the House, she seemingly stepped aside from her Amish-background books, to write a unique, “black sheep” story for the Christian market, one that lives gracefully among the sheepfold of her other books. Not only does the setting attract a different reading audience, so does the Oriental art. The illustrations in this 32-page book include 6 double spreads, 12 single spreads, and many small “spots drawings” by artist, Chi Chung. In addition to her drawings of delightful, energetic characters, she, too, has authored a number of other children’s books.
For COWS IN THE HOUSE, both talents of author and artist complement each other and help the reader to understand this: That one young boy learned to be satisfied with what he had, a lesson found originallly in a scripture written by the Apostle Paul:
“For I have learned to be content with whatever I have.” (Philippians 4:11, NRSV). Christian author Lewis emphasizes this truth by including the verse on the book’s Dedication Page, reminding readers that God’s truth can even be found in a fairy tale from Thailand.
COWS in the HOUSE by Beverly Lewis, Illustrated by Chi Chung
Published in 1998 by Bethany House Publishers
Children’s Book Reviewer, Mrs. Patricia Ann Timbrook, PatSays, May 3, 2019
When does a fairy tale come from Thailand, that also comes from Christian author Beverly Lewis? It comes in the form of COWS in the HOUSE, a children’s picture book that’s a retelling tale from this renown children’s book author.
In almost 900 words, the legend of a barefoot boy begins with the familiar fairy tale format, ‘Once Upon a Time,” an opening that automatically distances the reader from the story: Barefoot boy is upset and has no peace in the family household, because of the noise from his five “quarreling sisters.” So, he visits his Great-Grandfather and asks for his wisdom in how to rid the house of the noise. Barefoot boy does not like Great-Grandfather’s ideas: Number 1: Bring five cows into the house; but, that does not work. Number two: Bring in five spoiled cousins; but, that does not work, either. Number three: Pay six musicians to play their instruments in the house. Not any help at all! In fact, instead of eliminating the noise of his quarreling sisters, the noise level grows worse, resulting in barefoot boy becoming even more distressed. Finally, Great-Grandfather tells him to go home and begin removing each of the added “house guests,” (starting with the cows). Whenever barefoot boy does so, the noise level goes back to the way it was originally, with five quarreling sisters. However, this time, instead of complaining, barefoot boy finds that he can sleep calmly once more—hence, the “happily ever after” ending.
The author’s many book series include topics of love, relationships, and family life of young ladies growing up in Amish culture, the same culture about which Lewis, who grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, writes authoritatively for Chrisitan publishing houses. For many years, Beverly Lewis has reigned over the Bethany House Publishing kingdom, culminating over 80 children’s books on the market today. For Cows in the House, she seemingly stepped aside from her Amish-background books, to write a unique, “black sheep” story for the Christian market, one that lives gracefully among the sheepfold of her other books. Not only does the setting attract a different reading audience, so does the Oriental art. The illustrations in this 32-page book include 6 double spreads, 12 single spreads, and many small “spots drawings” by artist, Chi Chung. In addition to her drawings of delightful, energetic characters, she, too, has authored a number of other children’s books.
For COWS IN THE HOUSE, both talents of author and artist complement each other and help the reader to understand this: That one young boy learned to be satisfied with what he had, a lesson found originallly in a scripture written by the Apostle Paul:
“For I have learned to be content with whatever I have.” (Philippians 4:11, NRSV). Christian author Lewis emphasizes this truth by including the verse on the book’s Dedication Page, reminding readers that God’s truth can even be found in a fairy tale from Thailand.
April 26, 2014
This is a wonderfully written story to help teach children to be happy with what they have. The little boy has five younger sisters that all they do is fight all the time. So he goes to his great grandfather to ask what to do... very interesting what great grandfather tells him to do. And in the end he obeys everything he is told to do and he learns to respect and appreciate what he has.
July 2, 2009
A young boy asks his grandfather's help in stopping his sisters from annoying him. Grandfather suggests introducing some interesting characters into the home, which of course only adds to the chaos. The boy eventually learns to be thankful for what he has, for it could be much worse.
November 28, 2011
Great moral for us all. Even though things could be bad they could always be worse. Appreciate what you have, its not as bad as it could be. It took several cows, complaining cousins, marching bands and so on to teach the young boy in this story that very simple lesson.
June 7, 2010
I was interested in this book for children by one of my favorite authors, Beverly Lewis. It was delightful and reminded you of one of God's messages from the Bible. The art was delightful.
April 22, 2012
Great text to self book for students who are in k-2nd. Students can connect with either having lots of siblings or even maybe cousins and how they feel in certain situations.
March 16, 2021
Cows in the House by Beverly Lewis --This one is funny and charming with a great moral! Happy Reading!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews