Cows and Sheep and Chicks That Cheep: Farm Poems

PreS-Gr 3–Florian has done it again with an appealing poetry book about a family farm and all of the things found there. “Udderly big/ and udderly s l o w./ But udderly lovable/ wherever they go./ Udderly calm,/ and udderly still./ Cows are udderly, udderly chill.” Readers will enjoy the short end-rhyme poems about various animals, such as turkeys, rabbits, goats, and even the family collie who helps with the herding. Each page contains a separate four- to five-stanza poem on one side and a full-page illustration on the opposite. The brightly colored illustrations are done on primed paper bags with pencil, watercolor, and crayon. The paper-bag texture is evident beneath the picture, which gives it an organic feel. Most characters featured are animals. There are a few people with brown skin and black hair added to the pictures. Additionally, there is a stamped word that describes the main focus of each picture, such as the word rooster on the page that contains a poem about the rooster. Some animals are portrayed anthropomorphically, wearing clothes and drinking cool drinks in chairs, while others are portrayed more naturally.