Herd of Cows Flock of Sheep

by Rick Walton

What's more fun than a clowder of cats, a rafter of turkeys, a swarm of bees, or a pack of dogs? Herd of Cows! Flock of Sheep!--the latest word play from the kind of language arts picture books, Rick Walton.

After bringing in his corn, potatoes, beans, and tomatoes, Farmer Bob decides to settle down for a good night's rest. While he snoozes away, the river rises high enough to set his bed afloat down the river. This sends the animals into a panic--a drove of pigs outlines a plan, a colony of beavers races to chew down trees, a school of fish tries to create a dam, and so forth. Will Farmer Bob be rescued by a nest of snakes and a herd of horses? It's a barnyard adventure that will leave bands of children begging for more.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

Kindle Edition

First published July 29, 2002

About the author

Born and raised in Utah, Walton is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon Church. He served as a missionary to Brazil from 1976 to 1978, soon after he graduated from high school. Later, at Brigham Young University, he became president of the Brazil Club. In 1980, he graduated from Brigham Young with a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a minor in Portuguese, the language spoken in Brazil.

Walton's education continued after he obtained his degree. In 1980, he went back to Brigham Young for one semester of graduate work in business, but chose not to follow that career path. Deciding to become a teacher, he earned certification in elementary education from Brigham Young in 1987, as well as certification to teach gifted and talented students. Up to that point, he had held a number of jobs, including a year with the parks and recreation department of Provo, Utah. In 1987, he began teaching sixth grade at a local public school, then switched to a private school.

Also interested in computers, Walton would later publish several items of software. He left teaching to accept a position as software designer for IBM in 1989. In 1994, he turned to freelance software design and writing. He also returned to Brigham Young University once again, this time to earn his master's degree in English, with an emphasis on creative writing.

Walton's wife, Ann, with whom he has written many of his books, is a computer programmer. They were married in 1983, and have five children. With Dumb Clucks! and Something's Fishy! in 1987, the Waltons began writing books.

Reviews

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book to learn animal names and what you call a group of those animals. I love how it shows how tired we can be when we have worked hard. And I love how the animals work together and come up with game plan after game plan on how to help the farmer. After reading this book I too want to sleep for a week!

Talking Points: What is your favorite animal in this book? When it comes to Artwork, which page do you like best in this book and why? What type of work do you do and what type of work does your parents do? What makes you the most tired?

**Essential Oil Pairing Tip: So tired that you want to sleep for a week? Try diffusing doTERRA's Lavender. When you want sleep it helps you sleep, but when you need to wake up it doesn't make you sleepy.

[Deidra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by Rick Walton, illustrated by Julie Olson. Published by Gibbs Smith, copyright 2002.

Grade Level: 1st-2nd

When the farmer finally gets time to rest in his comfy bed, a tremendous rain comes and floods his house. His bed gets lifted up by the water and sent down a river. The animals keep trying to warn the farmer and wake him up, but he has his sleeping cap on so he can't see! He keeps telling the animals to be quiet, he needs his sleep! The animals come up with many plans to save him, but they keep falling through. Can the animals save the farmer???

This is a cute story filled with many types of animals and bugs. It has a fun pattern where the farmer keeps building on the animals he says to keep quiet.

Children will like the pattern in the story, and all the farm animals sounds. It has a lot of laughter built in.

Possible themes/units: farm animals, floods or natural disasters, friends helping eachother out, and being aware of your surroundings.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the farmer's house is flooded, he floats down the river in his bed, desperate for a little sleep. Little does he know, he is floating straight towards a waterfall. Along the way, various animals attempt to wake him up and warn him, but the farmer, still wearing his sleep mask and thinking he is still at home, only tells them to be quiet and leave him alone. The rollicking, repetitive, rhyming text of the book draw kids in, but its inspired illustrations do not convey the dynamism and movement necessary to match the plot and text of the book. On the whole, this is one of those instances in which an author and illustrator of a picture book seem to clash.

[Karen Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collective nouns