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A Symphony of Cowbells
Petra just loves spring in Gimmelwald. Each season she and her family lead their prize dairy cows into the pastures to graze and each cow wears her own jingling, jangling, clanging bell. What a symphony! But when Petra's favorite cow, Effie, loses her bell the whole herd is out of harmony and refuses to move. Will Petra be able to find Effie's bell before it's too late? With charming illustrations, this whimsical story is sure to delight children and adults alike.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Hardcover
Published March 15, 2017
76 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 30, 2024
Rating by 7 and 8 year olds
December 27, 2017
Preusser, Heather A Symphony of Cowbells, illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen. PICTURE BOOK. Sleeping Bear Press, 2017. $17.
In the alpine village of Grimmelwald, spring is a loud season. But when Petra's lead dairy cow Elfi loses her bell, there's suddenly a lot less noise -- and a lot less milk, too. Where did the bell go? And if Petra can't find it, how can she motivate Elfi to make milk without the bell?
This pretty picture book would make for a nice lesson on predictions, as astute readers will see some foreshadowing in the smaller illustrations framing each main one. The pictures work well with the text, and there are some fun sound effects to make for an interesting read-aloud.
EL (K-3) -- ADVISABLE. Reviewed by Sydney G., K-6 Library Media Specialist
In the alpine village of Grimmelwald, spring is a loud season. But when Petra's lead dairy cow Elfi loses her bell, there's suddenly a lot less noise -- and a lot less milk, too. Where did the bell go? And if Petra can't find it, how can she motivate Elfi to make milk without the bell?
This pretty picture book would make for a nice lesson on predictions, as astute readers will see some foreshadowing in the smaller illustrations framing each main one. The pictures work well with the text, and there are some fun sound effects to make for an interesting read-aloud.
EL (K-3) -- ADVISABLE. Reviewed by Sydney G., K-6 Library Media Specialist
June 28, 2017
A lively read-aloud set in the Swiss Alps, young readers will love clever Petra and her stubborn cow, Elfi. (--Who surely is the literary relation to Ferdinand the bull?) The illustrations are lovely and detailed, and on additional reads, everyone will enjoy following the little cuckoo clock story as it plays out on the bottom of nearly every page.
May 11, 2017
Petra must solve the mystery of the missing cowbell to move the herd. Set in a small Swiss town, accompanied by the sounds of bells, and filled with whimsical illustrations, this story is a great read aloud.
May 22, 2017
This book is beautiful! Preusser's text is so melodic, with different sounds of the Swiss countryside peppered throughout. Ewen's illustration's are gorgeous, with delightful cuckoo clock renderings on the bottom of most pages.
July 2, 2017
A delightful book with so much to look at in the illustrations! My son loves farm animals and sound words, so between the cows and the fun, rich language used to describe the sounds in the book, he was enthralled by this one!
July 10, 2017
Elfi the cow lost her bell, and now the harmony is lost and the other cows won't move. The sounds the bell makes ("Brring-Bong! Brring Bong!) are fun read alouds and the story transports the reader back to a sweet fairytale like land and time, supported by beautifully illustrated art.
July 18, 2017
With lots of fun read-aloud 'music' and classic fairy tale illustrations, kids will bounce along with Petra and Elfi in their Swiss town of Gimmelwald. I love the multiple storylines involving the toy crows and cuckoo couple. A great book for a detail-oriented child and multiple readings.
July 22, 2017
A sweet story about a cow, her bell, and a girl with yellow boots! I love the details in this book--children will get lost in all the little things there are to notice about the farm and the mountains.
August 26, 2017
I've fallen in love with this beautiful book. The musical text makes for a fun read-aloud, and the whimsical illustrations tell a story of their own. It's definitely a book that makes you want to read it again...and again...and again!
June 15, 2018
Love love love the illustrations; they tell an important sub-story if you have a keen eye. I adore the nostalgic feel of the illustrations and story too. Reminds me of the Slow Food movement in an interesting way...
October 20, 2018
This feels like a folktale, set in the Alps, where you follow the tale of a little girl and her favorite cow, who has lost her cowbell.
The kids enjoyed it.
The artwork is especially spectacular - and young readers will know what happened to the bell long before the main characters do!
The kids enjoyed it.
The artwork is especially spectacular - and young readers will know what happened to the bell long before the main characters do!
August 1, 2019
This is a delightful picture book full of onomatopoeia and alliteration. The detailed illustrations mesh perfectly with the text. The book inspired me to read more about the Swiss town of Gimmelwald and the history of cowbells.
June 21, 2017
This would be a fun book to read to children when they have instruments to encourage interaction and musical awareness.
August 3, 2017
When her bell goes missing, Elfi the cow refuses to go to the high meadow for summer. Memorable especially for the wordless story that compliments and informs the text.
September 2, 2017
A beautiful, lyrical picture book that will immediately transport you to spring in Gimmelwald. Highly recommend.
October 18, 2017
What a wonderful book for children with a challenge every child can relate to. I love the pictures as well.
December 29, 2017
An absolutely lovely bedtime picture book. Illustrations are Jan Brett-ish and the language is lovely.
March 5, 2018
Beautiful book!
September 7, 2018
Beautiful illustrations with glorious details accompany this lovely story that children and adults will enjoy reading again and again! A wonderful debut picture book.
September 15, 2017
This is a sweet story about a stubborn cow who has lost his bell and with such lively illustrations...it's all in the details. Review can be found here: http://onceuponashelf.blogspot.com/20...
April 20, 2017
A fun read-a-loud, full of onomatopoeia kids will love.
November 28, 2017
Ring the alpine bells for this charming save-the-day story set in Switzerland! Children will have fun chiming along with the lively text and discovering clues to the whereabouts of Elfi the cow's missing bell in clever coo-coo clock vignettes. They will cheer when the persistent protagonist, Petra, solves the mystery in the end, ensuring that townsfolk will have milk and cheese after all.
A sweet as cream story and journey into Swiss alpine culture!
A sweet as cream story and journey into Swiss alpine culture!
April 10, 2017
A Symphony of Cowbells has so much lovely, old-fashioned charm mixed with a lively text and gorgeous illustrations.
April 10, 2017
A wonderful debut story by author Heather Preusser about Petra and her family taking the dairy cows up to the pastures to graze to on pastures. Each cow has a bell that when chiming together make a perfect symphony But when Petra's favorite cow, Elfi, loses her bell, none of the cows will budge. The harmony is gone. Petra searches high and low searching for Elfi's special bell. She finally find its and Elfi can wear her beautiful Brrring-BONG, brrring-BONG bell and lead the cows in their symphony. Beautiful illustrations that put the reader right in a Swiss fairy tale town.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews