Old MacDonald Had a Cow

by Harriet Ziefert, Richard Brown (Illustrator)

From the terrific illustrator of Who Built the Ark? and Oh, What a Noisy Farm! comes another hilarious cumulative tale, full of joy and a topsy-turvy version of Old Macdonald . With fuzzy flocking throughout and on the cover, this bright picture book is bound to become a favorite.

Old MacDonald had a cow... With those words, even the youngest children will realize this isn't your ordinary version of the favorite song. The fun begins as the farmer milks his cow, and continues as Old MacDonald uses that milk to feed his animals and his children too. Along the way, there's pulling and squirting, mooing and meowing, oinking and bow-wowing, and a great big GIMME! Youngsters will enjoy a fully interactive experience as they listen, join in and sing, applaud with the characters at the end of the story (hurrah for the cow!), and touch the soft flocking on every page.

28 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for showing how integral and important the cow is to the farm and the farmer's family. This was a great story to share before we go to the Heifer Festival this weekend. I think we'll read it a few more times this week. It was only a little hard to read without singing, since it doesn't follow the song exactly (skips the E-I-E-I-O part). Still a winner for being unique and familiar simultaneously.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

good enough for one on one read but not a group. it is NOT a version of the song but rather a story with minimal repeaters and lacking cadence to sing aloud about how the farmer feeds his animals and the cow rocks cuz it gives milk. girls liked it because cow was fuzzy on every other page.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have read this book at least 233 times in the past week. "I want green book. Yes. Cow book. Again? Green book again?" I think she likes it!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cows in this book are fuzzy on every other page.