Santa Cow Island

by Cooper Edens, Daniel Lane (Illustrator)

A whimsical take on The Night Before Christmas brings us cows instead of Santa, with wacky and delightful antics and surreal illustrations, while a family enjoys a South Sea Cow Adventure during their vacation on Santa Cow Island.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parody of The Night Before Christmas. Well done.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Schwartzes are a very stereotypical Midwestern family with a herd of unusual friends. In this story, the Santa-hat-bedecked bovines fly the family to a sunny tropical vacation spot.

The silly and colorful illustrations really make the story.

I was hoping maybe the presence of such generous cow buddies would inspire the junk food-inhaling family to change their diet even a little, and there was a line alluding to this: “The kids inhaled Cheetos, but swore off dried beef.” (Hey, in this family, that’s progress.)

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very silly!

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

#1994 Gift Santa’s cow need a vacation after Christmas, they invite Elwood and Ruby and family to go with them to Santa Cow Island.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you thought I liked Santa Cows, this sequel took my adoration to a whole other level. I LOVED Santa Cow Island. The pictures were creepier, the colors were brighter, and the story was, if possible, even stranger than the first book. In case that doesn't sound like high praise, check out my review of Santa Cows and it will all make sense (hopefully).

My thoughts are very much the same for the second book, so I won't repeat myself there.

Unfortunately I couldn't find any pictures online to share other than the cover, but Amazon does have a "Look inside" feature that you should check out to see the incredible illustrations. Don't be startled by the unusual style; it grows on you quickly.

Instead I will just give you a quote from the beginning of the story:

"Twas the day after Christmas; warmer climes were my wish,
So I asked the dear Cows if they thought me foolish.
'Not at all,' they replied. 'And here's an invitation:
Come fly with us now for a Cow Isle vacation."

Now, of course the story of Santa Cows are never finished. No one was more shocked than I upon writing this review, to discover that there was a THIRD book of Santa Cows. That means this is a trilogy, my favorite kind. Santa Cow Studios is the name, and now I'm off to see if I can pick up a used copy for my reading nostalgic pleasure.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like that it mentions Cheetos!