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When Cows Come Home
Boyds Mills Press publishes a wide range of high-quality fiction and nonfiction picture books, chapter books, novels, and nonfiction
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 20, 2017
All time favorite children's book of both myself and my daughter. Living on a cattle farm this was the perfect book and she always giggled at the cows' antics when the farmer looked away. We made a game out of imagining our cows doing the same thing.
August 15, 2019
I had to work a little harder than normal to keep kids' attention with this one. I like the rhyme scheme, though.
December 1, 2017
When the cows are done for the day, they spend their free time having fun. They run, and prance, and dance. But when they meet up with the donkeys they get the opportunity to leave the farm. But they decide to stay and go back to milking at the end of the day.
March 17, 2017
I thought that this was a cute book. my kids enjoyed this book. I would recommend this book to others.
July 25, 2017
This is a comical *tail* about some frolicking cows that's sure to be a favorite! Full spread pictures are eye-catching and fun!
Ages 4+
Ages 4+
April 11, 2018
This was a great text to use when teaching figurative language and was a cute book!
April 20, 2018
This book is very funny. It talks about what the cows do when they sneak away from the farm. I think it's funny that the farmer is winking when the cows sneak back home.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2019
Cute rhyme, fun illustrations.
January 3, 2020
It may be good for showing rhyming words. But the story doesn’t really make sense or is very funny. It’s just ok. The title was my favorite part.
July 16, 2021
A fun story in verse about what the cows on the farm are doing when the farmer is looking--and when he is not!
August 20, 2021
A decently silly book about cows escaping and frolicking about. Felt a little constrained to the rhyme scheme--but the illustrations were playful and kid-friendly.
September 15, 2023
A favorite of Oliver's and mine! So fun and sing-songy.
December 27, 2025
The rhyme didn’t really flow well
April 18, 2018
charming rhymes about silly mischief cows get up to when the farmer is not looking
February 1, 2016
When Cows Come Home (1994) By David L. Harrison, Pictures by Chris L. Demarest, Fiction.
This book is about a herd of cows that are mischievous and silly as soon as their farmer looks away. They take advantage of their time when they are not being closely watched. The book takes the reader through the fun-filled adventures of these “happy-go-lucky” cows. The “hillbilly” farmer doesn’t pay much close attention to the cows until the end of the day rolls around and he’s ready to have them back home.
I found this book to be very humorous and enjoyed reading it as well as following along with the illustrations. The author uses rhyming in his text, which keeps the story up beat and spunky! The illustrator also creates a very fun loving animation in his water-color designed characters. The cows are very cartoon-like and grab the reader’s attention rather quickly.
One of the characteristics of the book that I found very amusing was the way some of the text and illustration were presented and incorporated directly together. There are a few lines of text that are actually printed into some of the haystacks that the cows are prancing around. There is constant action going on around the text, and the reader can’t help but wonder what is going to become of these silly, sneaky cows. The illustrator also uses his talent with water color and drawing to portray the typical “ranch-hand” type farmer. He has a straw hat, overalls, and is constantly chewing on a piece straw. The cows partake in some “over the top,” activities, such as playing fiddles, and putting their babies on bikes to be pulled by the farmer’s sleigh. The cows are shown rolling on the ground laughing at their own behavior which, in turn, makes the reader want to laugh with them!
This book is guaranteed to bring a smile or even full blown laughter to those who read it. There is no doubt that the illustrations on the pages will lure young readers’ attention into the book. The “ditsy” cow personifications along with the “ranch-hand” farmer will make the reader want to use a southern “twang” in their speech while reading the book!
This book is about a herd of cows that are mischievous and silly as soon as their farmer looks away. They take advantage of their time when they are not being closely watched. The book takes the reader through the fun-filled adventures of these “happy-go-lucky” cows. The “hillbilly” farmer doesn’t pay much close attention to the cows until the end of the day rolls around and he’s ready to have them back home.
I found this book to be very humorous and enjoyed reading it as well as following along with the illustrations. The author uses rhyming in his text, which keeps the story up beat and spunky! The illustrator also creates a very fun loving animation in his water-color designed characters. The cows are very cartoon-like and grab the reader’s attention rather quickly.
One of the characteristics of the book that I found very amusing was the way some of the text and illustration were presented and incorporated directly together. There are a few lines of text that are actually printed into some of the haystacks that the cows are prancing around. There is constant action going on around the text, and the reader can’t help but wonder what is going to become of these silly, sneaky cows. The illustrator also uses his talent with water color and drawing to portray the typical “ranch-hand” type farmer. He has a straw hat, overalls, and is constantly chewing on a piece straw. The cows partake in some “over the top,” activities, such as playing fiddles, and putting their babies on bikes to be pulled by the farmer’s sleigh. The cows are shown rolling on the ground laughing at their own behavior which, in turn, makes the reader want to laugh with them!
This book is guaranteed to bring a smile or even full blown laughter to those who read it. There is no doubt that the illustrations on the pages will lure young readers’ attention into the book. The “ditsy” cow personifications along with the “ranch-hand” farmer will make the reader want to use a southern “twang” in their speech while reading the book!
October 12, 2012
1. Rating: 3
2. A Book review from Publisher's Weekly said, "Memorable stanzas and animated spreads jazz up this look at the silly things cows just might do when people stop paying attention to them... Liberated from Farmer's watchful eye, the members of the herd pedal bicycles, swim in a pond and clown around with some braying donkeys. Although Harrison's litany of heifer high jinks sags a bit in the middle, rhyme and repetition subtly encourage beginning readers to recognize and practice key words."
3. I really enjoyed the fun water-painting illustrations and full-page spreads throughout the book. The author used great rhyming words when talking about what the crazy cows were up to at the end of the day and I think teachers could make it interactive in asking the students "What do you think the cows are going to do next?" or "Do you ever do anything a little silly when your parents or guardians aren't looking?"
2. A Book review from Publisher's Weekly said, "Memorable stanzas and animated spreads jazz up this look at the silly things cows just might do when people stop paying attention to them... Liberated from Farmer's watchful eye, the members of the herd pedal bicycles, swim in a pond and clown around with some braying donkeys. Although Harrison's litany of heifer high jinks sags a bit in the middle, rhyme and repetition subtly encourage beginning readers to recognize and practice key words."
3. I really enjoyed the fun water-painting illustrations and full-page spreads throughout the book. The author used great rhyming words when talking about what the crazy cows were up to at the end of the day and I think teachers could make it interactive in asking the students "What do you think the cows are going to do next?" or "Do you ever do anything a little silly when your parents or guardians aren't looking?"
March 12, 2016
Young children love When Cows Come Home with all the words that rhyme with hay, say and away. The cows have a fun time at play during the day but they come home so the farmer can take the milk away at the end of the day. It really is a fun book and often asked to be repeated by the preschool children in my class.
September 23, 2014
This is a great book with rhyming words on each page. It's very silly and fun for young children to listen to. It's also a good book for early readers because of it's rhyming words and great pictures.
January 16, 2015
Great to pair or compare with the Click, Clack, Moo Cows that... books! The first grade kids really enjoyed it. They appreciated that the farmer let the cows have some fun and was not mad like Farmer Brown.
September 17, 2015
This book as very cute illustrations. It shows that we never know what's going on when where not looking. When I read the book at the daycare where I work the kids all laughed at the different silly things the cows were doing and were very attentive towards it.
January 20, 2014
This book is a cute book and talks about the cows leaving the farm. Kids could read this book on their own because it rhymes on every page and repeats a lot of the words.
February 18, 2014
Fun book about what cows do when others aren't looking. Great book to kick off our unit for FFA Week!
September 29, 2016
This book was another book that I found laying around my house and decided to read it. It was an okay book. This book reminded me of a cartoon that i use to watch.
November 16, 2016
The kids will get a laugh out of this one.
July 19, 2018
Rachel liked reading this book. At one point she told me, "hey, this story rhymes."
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews