Available:*
Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607001400533 | Picture Books | SMALL | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
"George Washington's cows were kept upstairs, And given their own special room. They never were seen by light of day. No matter for what or by whom." These cows are just the beginning of George's problems. To be sure, his hogs are helpful around the house, but it irks Martha when their parties are better than hers. And then there are the sheep--all of them smarter than Tom Jefferson, with degrees (no to say "sheepskins") to prove it. What's a Father of his country to do? David Smalll puts a hilariously sticky fingerprint on the well-polished veneer of American history, showing readers what really went on in the home of our first President.
Author Notes
David Small was born on February 12, 1945, in Detroit, Michigan. He studied art and English at Wayne State University, and went on to complete graduate studies in art at Yale. After receiving his MFA degree, he taught drawing and printmaking at the State University of New York, Fredonia College, Kalamazoo College, and the University of Michigan. He also created editorial cartoons for publications such as the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. In the 1980s, he lost his teaching job due to cutbacks. It was then that he committed himself to combining his loves of writing and art.
His first picture book, Eulalie and the Hopping Head, was published in 1981. He earned a 1997 Caldecott Honor and The Christopher Medal for The Gardener, written by his wife, Sarah Stewart. In 2001, he received the Caldecott Medal for his artwork in So, You Want To Be President? by Judith St. George. His editorial drawings regularly appear in publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ, and The Washington Post.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This short, rhyming tale by David Small (FS&G, 1994) deals with the farm animals owned by George Washington. Guaranteed to stretch the imagination while tickling the funnybone, it is a tale of cows who must be pampered with silk clothes and soft talk in order to produce milk, genteel pigs who are handy around the house and dinner table, and sheep who impress everyone with their knowledge. Narrator Peter Fernandez does a fine job of reading with a deadpan expression-adding to the credibility of the story. Delightful period music weaves in and out at appropriate times and is never distracting. Sound effects such as cows walking upstairs, animal noises, water bubbling, and hands applauding emphasize the action. Page turn signals on one side of the tape are the sounds of a page turning. Add this one to your list of tall tales for a very moo-ving experience!-Stephanie Bange, Kettering-Moraine Branch, Dayton & Montgomery County Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Witty and silly in equal measure, Small's (Ruby Mae Has Something to Say) cheeky exposé about the real reason the father of our country went into politics works on a number of conceptual levels. George Washington's farm is home to a host of precocious animals, including some secretive, moody cows (``They had to be dressed in lavendar gowns/ and bedded on cushions of silk/ .../ Begged every hour in obsequious tones,/ Or they just wouldn't give any milk''); house-servant hogs (``Always polite and impeccably dressed,/ They were certainly well-bred swine''); and a crew of scholarly sheep bent on mastering the mysteries of the universe. Illustrations are opulent and expansive, with both the overall conceits and the characters' costumes wonderfully imaginative and inventive. Buoyant rhymed couples have an across-the-board appeal, while the sly political joke that closes the tale will satisfy adults primarily: George, stymied by the animals (``My cows wear dresses, my pigs wear wigs/ And my sheep are more learnèd than me''), is last seen in a famous pose, being ferried across the Delaware, and saying, ``Sell the Farm... I'll try Politics!'' Smart entertainment. All ages. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved