Boo Cow

by Patricia Baehr, Margot Apple (Illustrator)

Mr. and Mrs. Noodleman don't know what to do. They've left city life behind and moved to the country with hopes of being farmers. But their dreams turn grim when nightly visits from Boo Cow scare the Noodlemans' hens so much, they won't lay any eggs! These first-time farmers are at a loss. Why is Boo Cow haunting them, and how can they banish this ghostly bovine visitor? Baehr's fun and accessible text make this book a great read-aloud. With unexpected twists and turns, BOO COW keeps readers guessing as they attempt to solve the mystery on the Noodlemans' farm.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Halloween, Ghosts, Humor, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2010

Reviews

[Cosette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

From my 5yo: "I liked when Mr. Noodleman gave the chickens a TV. I liked when Farmer Hackett stole the chickens' eggs. And I liked when Moo Cow kissed the bedroom chickens goodnight."

From his mom: a gently mysterious story that my kiddo really enjoyed. Nice illustrations.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

My oldest loves ghosts and all things creepy but I found myself itching for this book to be over

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goes in a surprising direction, but the cow tucking in chickens is adorable.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Noodlemans are appealing and Boo Cow's affinity for chickens is heartwarming. Farmer Hackett is not a nice neighbor.

[Arlene Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

How can a book be adorable, sweet, bizarre and predictable all at the same time? Boo Cow pulls it off - almost. We never find out why Boo Cow haunts, or why she is so protective of the chickens at the Noodlemans' farm?Was she killed by a wolf, fox or coyote trying to protect the hen house, or was she protecting the chickens from the "villian" who also maybe did her and her former owners wrong? (If you can't guess who the "villian" is the first time you see him, it's back to pre-k for you!) I love cows, cow stories (Click Clack Moo is one of my favorites) and Halloween, so this should have been spectacular. Instead, it was just....okay.

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a good quirky book but this one I just didn't quite get into. In this picture book mystery, the Noodlemans have just bought an abandoned farm with the hopes of becoming successful egg farmers. Problem is, according to the neighbor, the farm is haunted by Boo Cow and the chickens refuse to lay eggs... I was hoping to find a not too scary addition to my halloween story time, and while this book is not too scary for young readers, the book just fell flat for me. While I generally liked the illustrations, I found the the ghost cow to look just a little bit strange. ~s

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit surprised at how much I liked this story. I was expecting something more fluffy and light, but this was a touching and mysterious tale, a little spooky, but not too scary. The story was well written, with suspense and interesting onomatopoeia to add to the creepiness of the tale. The illustrations were slightly fuzzy pencil and pastels that added a bit of turbidity to the nighttime scenes. And the ethereal cow was more sweet than spooky. We really enjoyed reading this story together.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this mystery, the Noodlemans investigate why their chickens will not lay eggs. Their neighbor and competitor, Mr. Hackett claims the Noodlemans' farm is haunted by Boo Cow. What does Boo Cow want and how can they get rid of her?

[babyhippoface · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really disappointed in this one. I'd read something that made me think it might be a cute story for Halloween season, but instead I just thought it was predictable and silly. Why did the ghost cow love the chickens? No clue. Why was he a ghost at all? No clue. I just didn't like it.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read on Reading Rainbow. O LOVES this story. I might have to buy a hardcover. (Ended up finding a copy at the thrift store). Read we the youngest and he thought it was very funny. He likes cows and it was timely with Halloween coming up.

[Candida · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd but cute book.

[Stefani · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was too frenetic. Half of it didn't make sense and there was no flow. Charming idea, poor execution.

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://ecslibrary.edublogs.org/2011/0...

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being homesteaders who are very fond of cows and chickens, we loved this weird book. The story is odd but sweet and the illustrations are pretty good. Worth a read.

[Katie Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story about some want-to-be-farmers who can't get their chickens to lay eggs because of the resident ghost cow, but find out that maybe the ghost cow is not the culprit after all.

[The Book Box]

Mama read this to me to get into the Halloween spirit before I went trick or treating! I liked the cow saying "Boooooo!" best.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

what a strange picture book mystery.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun to read before playing halloween version of duck duck goose--moo, moo, moo, BOO