THE COW SAID MEOW

A cacophony of animals sneak their way into an elderly, nearsighted white woman’s home to get out of the rain, producing a funny, musical menagerie.

After a cat meows its way from the pouring rain into the home of a white-haired woman wearing Coke-bottle glasses, a clever cow standing nearby percolates an idea. The cow meows, the woman trustingly opens the door, and the cow purrs her way in. A pig that witnessed the occurrence has now learned how it can find a way indoors. “Meow,” says the pig, as a chicken watches. The chicken makes its way in with a “buk buk meow buk,” to be followed by a horse, a goat, and a duck. One particularly hysterical spread depicts the benevolent woman petting what she believes to be a cat (it’s in fact a purring goat) as the chicken grooms its leg, catlike, and the other animals wreak havoc around them. It’s in the same spread that readers will see that the original feline tenant is far from amused and so commits to ratting out the farm animals to the bespectacled woman. Creator of Chickens to the Rescue (2006) and its companions, Himmelman draws inspiration from his repertoire to populate his amusing story. With minimal text, the book encourages readers to study the animals’ expressive facial cues—from an irritated cat to an eyebrow-raising cow.

A menagerie of fun that readers will revisit time and time again.