Cowie

Cowie, the donkey, loved everything about cows (hence, his name). He really wanted to be a cow and tried everything, from chewing cud to “oom-ing”. Whoops, he couldn’t be a cow! He couldn’t say “Moo”! His dear friends, Mousie and Duckie, tried to help him turn his “moo” around and, somehow, do so. After a brief celebration, Cowie (now adorned with his beautiful cowbell) spends the rest of days in contentment.

While the story is a bit silly, the illustrations of pencil and watercolor make up for it. The animals are sweetly portrayed and there’s even a cute little chick that pops in on occasion. Additional purchase.

You Loves Ewe!

Dim-witted Donkey has so much difficulty with homonyms! And, there are plenty in this book, which is a follow-up to I Yam a Donkey! by Cece Bell.

Donkey comes up to two characters and greets them as fellow donkeys. Yam corrects him and introduces new friend, Ewe, to Donkey, who replies “That is ME? I yam so cute and fluffy!” And, the comical repartee ensues. Yam tries to be helpful. But, he tends to make things more difficult by showing Donkey signs and examples of Doe/Dough, Moose/Mousse and Hare/Hair. The story ends with Ewe professing her love for Ram over Yam (“Eye Dew”) and a tearful Yam being consoled by his buddy, Donkey. Oh, My!

Bright illustrations organized in blocky comic book style accompany text in word bubbles. Young readers may not understand all the comical missteps on their own. But, this is a great introduction to homonyms and can be useful as a teaching tool as well.