Day 23: Splashes of Ink

Our next farm kid story author describes a great big cow in creative words that kids can relate to.

 “Her angular body is covered with huge black spots that look like splashes of ink.”

Yup, that’s exactly what a Holstein looks like.

 

 

In Clarabelle: Making Milk and So Much More, author Cris Peterson goes on to say, “Clarabelle is big and bony. She weights nearly fifteen hundred pounds – almost as much as a soccer team of second-graders with the coaches thrown in for good measure – and she’s almost as tall as Josh and Sam’s dad.”

 

 

And who didn’t just picture a group of knee-socked kiddos and their clipboard-holding coaches….and make the comparison to a gigantic cow?   Really, this author brings a sense of fun into her descriptions. 

 

 

Photographer David R. Lundquist captures the newness of a newborn calf including the wrinkly, wet fur and its mother’s protectiveness.   I enjoy the close-up photos of the things dairy cattle eat:   hay, corn, cottonseed, corn silage.

Any teachers out there?   If you enjoy this book and live in a 300-mile radius of northwest Indiana… then a visit to Fair Oaks Farms might be an idea for you.   I’d like to bring G someday and visit this family-owned dairy farm that includes a cheese factory and birthing barn. 

Any dairy (or hog) folks out there?  I think you would enjoy the My Cows and Pigs blog.  Be sure to check out the Pollards “30 Days of What’s That?” series here.  Their day 14 post that describes pivot gates makes me think about… that one Friends episode.  

Yes mixing agriculture and cultural references right here.

What’s your favorite cow book?

Lauren

My Library List:
Preview Day: 30 Days of Farm Kid Stories
Day 1: One Moment
Day 2: Perfect Pizza
Day 3: Our Heartland
Day 4: Pasta Fistful
Day 5: One Fast Grower
Day 6: Farmer Seuss
Day 7: Just One Cookie?
Day 8: Frowns Turn into Smiles
Day 9: BOO-HA
Day 10: Big Red Barn
Day 11: Magic with Vegetables
Day 12: Call to Action
Day 13: BOOM
Day 14: Ponies and Cowboys
Day 15: Value to our Trees
Day 16: Tractor Time
Day 17: Wishing for a Washing
Day 18: United Tweets
Day 19: Popcorn Pops
Day 20: Busy Places
Day 21: Peas Please
Day 22: Thankful

Our blogging host Holly Spangler writes “30 Days on a Prairie Farm” this month on her blog: My Generation.