The Cow Tripped Over the Moon: A Nursery Rhyme Emergency

by Jeanne Willis, Joel Stewart (Illustrator)

Who is that bovine that just fell from a great height? What if the wind rocks the cradle a little too hard? Help, it’s a nursery rhyme emergency!

Here comes an ambulance on its way!
Who’s had an accident in Storyland today?

Jumping over the moon is fine as long as you don’t trip—and end up needing cow-size bandages. And having a blackbird peck off your nose can leave a person very sore indeed. Led along by bright, humorous illustrations and an energetic rhyming text, little readers will have fun guessing who the next Storyland victim might be, following hints like, "Who could be covered in egg?" and "Who went up and tumbled down?" Look out, here comes the ambulance!

Genres: Picture Books, Nursery Rhymes, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Humor, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 12, 2015

About the author

Jeanne Willis was born in St Albans and trained as an advertising copywriter at Watford College. She worked for various agencies creating press adverts and TV, cinema and radio commercials. She is now a full-time writer and has published over 80 books. Her hobbies include gardening, reading (non-fiction), natural history and collecting caterpillars. Jeanne has also worked on scripts for TV, including POLLY POCKET and THE SLOW NORRIS, and a pilot TV series for DR XARGLE. She lives in North London with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

For kids who love nursery rhymes this is just the book. It's a sort of 'what comes after' to the typical nursery rhymes we all grew up with. Be warned though: The ambulance crew uses questionable medical practices. I'm not sure you should fix anything with bread and jam - except an empty tummy!

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the picture of the cow tripping over the moon

[Luke Pacifico · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) The Book of the Year: Early Childhood 2016 Honours
2) Pre-K - 1
3) A great add-on to the old nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". This book is filled with incredibly charming illustrations that showcase each cow's attempt to get over the moon, because the cow supposedly did not get it right the first time.
4) The book is great because it teaches kids that it's okay to not get things right the first time, but if you keep at it then you'll be able to accomplish it. And once again, the illustrations are just incredible.
5) This is great to read after you've done a read through of "Hey Diddle Diddle" either earlier in the day or the day before. You can have kids write down their ambitions and brainstorm what they can do to try to achieve it.

[Katie Quagliana]

The Cow Tripped Over the Moon: A Nursery Rhyme Emergency by Jeanne Willis has won Early Childhood 2016 Honours.
This book is for K to 2nd grade.
This book is about the events that lead to a cow who wants to jump over the moon. He tries many times but fails. Then with the help from a few friends, Cat, Dog, Dish and Spoon the cow doesn't give up.
This book was very cute and showed that support from friends is important and to never give up. This book was colorful and fun.
This book would be great to show courage and how to never give up. Also it shows that support systems are important in everyday life. These would be good lessons in the classroom.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Here comes the ambulance! It’s on its way. Who’s had an accident in Storyland today?”

Of course the cow is going to get hurt when it jumps over the moon. And when that baby falls from the treetop, of course you need to call the Nursery Rhyme Emergency ambulance. Thankfully, the baby landed in a compost heap. It goes without saying that Humpty Dumpty needs medical attention and when Little Boy Blue falls asleep in the hay, it’s a dangerous situation with cows around. Oh yes, they sat on him. My, my but nursery rhymes are full of injuries, aren’t they?

Cute idea ... some of the rhymes are a little forced.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would make a good read for older children who know a few nursery rhymes. It does talk about many characters getting hurt and is a bit long, so I would recommend this for school-aged children.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute idea. The rhyme and rhythm is disjointed and hard to read aloud.

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable variations on standard nursery rhymes.

[Shane · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea sounded interesting - nursery rhymes gone wrong & needing medical assistance - but the text didn't engage me. The illustrations also seem quite old fashioned for a book published in 2015.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay. More fun if the nursery rhymes are familiar, but they could have worked harder on flow.

[Chelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Silly take on nursery rhymes. My kids thought it was pretty funny!

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. Cute illustrations.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little disappointed with the abrupt ending.

[Kelly Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars for concept
2 for execution
3 for illustrations

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the creativity of this book. Who'd have thought of having first responders for nursery rhyme crises? It was fun to read, and had ethnically-diverse characters.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly. 3 year old wants to keep this library book.

[Mrs Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book which follows a ambulance crew as they travel through Storyland rescuing nursery rhyme characters from the accidents they have had such as the "cow that fell from a great height somehow" from the Cow Jumped Over The Moon and "who is the patient covered in egg?" for Humpty Dumpty. The book has rhyming verse throughout and the illustrations are gorgeous, bright and colourful and definitely have caught my two little one's attention. There is reference to a couple of nursery rhymes that I'm not sure of such as Polly Flinders but thankfully the main accidents in the book are from nursery rhymes that I do know.

My two little ones haven't a clue of course who most of the characters are although my son does know the Cow and Humpty Dumpty which is why I referenced them over the others however this hasn't detracted from the book itself as the story is good even without them knowing the characters as we have just treated it as a story. I've already mentioned how bright and colourful the scenes are but I just wanted to also mention that the scenes themselves have so much going on in them in the backgrounds too with other nursery rhyme characters. A lovely book and can be read without knowing all of the nursery rhymes and so I've been happy to read this to my two little ones.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC copy to read and review if wished.

[Danielle]

I love this book because it takes all the nursery rhyme's that kids know and makes them different. Cops are called to different scenes (nursery rhyme) and helps fix what has happened. It's cute and funny for the kids. However, you'll have to make sure the kids know the proper nursery rhyme so they understand the funny aspect of the book.

An activity I would do with this book would be to have the kids create their own story, nursery rhyme. Then predict what would go wrong and write what scene the cops would be called to in their story. It helps them with their writing and their creative thinking and imagination.

Willis, J. & Stewart, J. (2015). The Cow Tripped Over the Moon: A Nursery Rhyme Emergency. Candlewick.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ideal for sharing with children, especially those who love nursery rhymes, this picture book follows an ambulance as it comes to the aid of characters from nursery rhymes. The story is told in rhyming text, and the paramedics rescue a cow that tripped over the moon, a slightly-cracked Humpty Dumpty, and a high-flying weasel. young readers will want to pay close attention to the mixed media illustrations here as they show various nursery rhyme characters, including the Dish and the Spoon, racing along the book's pages to see what's going on. The endpapers are delightful too, showing a black and white cow leaping over a startled moon.

[Romelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the fun and humor of the accidental-prone nursery rhyme characters, which the ambulance crew had to rescue. I thought it was original and clever. I have to admit, though, that I didn't catch the joke in the end until I Googled "Weasel in Nursery Rhyme." Then it became apparently funny! Which leads me to a caveat- If the child is unfamiliar with nursery rhymes, then this book may go over their heads. It'll be just a book on rescuing animals and people. May be more enjoyable to the older readers (like me).

[Courtney Huskisson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Classic nursery rhymes revisited. We know that Mother Goose and other nursery rhymes often have semi-violent and unfortunate endings. In this book the Nursery Rhyme Emergency Ambulance makes sure everyone comes out of the stories okay.

A cute follow-up if you know the nursery rhymes and has an appropriate rhyme scheme. Not sure it's one I'd read to the little-ones in my life unless we were doing a focus on nursery rhymes or rhyming.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Nursery Rhyme Ambulance is on the way to clean up the aftermath of favorite nursery rhymes. Told in rhyming verse, they pick up rock-a-by-baby when she falls, repair Humpty Dumpty and assist Little Boy Blue. This would be fun to share after reading nursery rhymes, and there is a bit of humor for little ones.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a completely silly and completely unorthodox sing story. The only good thing about it is that it opens a door to have a conversation about why accidents happen. The ending was just horrible. A particular kind of child might light the quick paced story and abrupt ending. I would read this on by yourself before reading it to your child.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Age: Preschool-Kindergarten
Fractured Nursery Rhymes

Three EMTs drive around Storyland helping nursery rhyme characters that have had a few accidents. The rhymes are fun, albeit some are harshly forced. Kids will have fun guessing the nusery rhyme characters through the visual hints given.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh no! It's a Nursery Rhyme Emergency! Who could it be this time? The cow? The baby? Humpty Dumpty? Follow the ambulance crew (and the dish and the spoon) as they deal with emergencies in nursery rhyme land. My four year old grand really enjoyed this one.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to my child and quickly realized that he doesn't know very many Nursery Rhymes! It mentions Hey Diddle Diddle, Rock-a-Bye Baby, Jack Be Nimble, Little Jack Horner, Four and Twenty Blackbirds, Humpty Dumpty, Little Boy Blue, and Pop Goes the Weasel.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious! Brilliant language, fantastic illustrations, what more do you need?

[Mel Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute little book. I enjoyed it very much. Kept my interest. Something I definitely need to keep in mind for my Toddlers.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of nursery rhyme lands most popular characters are having a rough night. It's fun to see fractured nursery rhymes for a change and this is a humorous readaloud for school age kids.