When the Cows Got Loose

by Carol Weis, Ard Hoyt (Illustrator)

While Ida Mae's busy daydreaming 'bout how to get famous, her twenty-six cows are busy flying the coop. Now it's up to Ida Mae and her trusty dog Calliope, to rustle up that herd of loitering livestock. 'Cause it's the only after each of those cavorting cows is corralled that Ida Mae can finally get back to the task at hand -- making her own dreams come true.

Carol Weis makes a stellar debut as she joins New York Times bestselling artist Ard Hoyt in a lively tale where one determined girl tracks down twenty-six bovines and discovers the answer to her dreams right outside her own back door.

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published July 11, 2006

Reviews

[Allexus Leftwich · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When the Cows Got Loose" depicts a story of a young girl's cows getting loose and follows her journey to find them all. She displays a lot of patience and perseverance to follow her dad's instructions in finding the missing cows. I really liked the humor in this book and the illustrations. I would use this book as a fun read, rather than for instructional purposes.

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

If anything consistently awes me it's the astonishing display of imagination and humor in children's books. This one, though, is a bit beyond the fringe. My kids and I just couldn't cotton to its peculiar brand of humor; the boys were visibly vexed by page 5. Over-the-top wackiness is not always a sure bet for success in children's books.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to pick up this one because my mom grew up on a dairy farm. I can still remember visiting my grandparents one day, looking out the window, and asking my grandpa why there were cows on the road. OOPS!


Fun to look at. Most of the jokes mean more looking at the pictures, so this is a small group as opposed to a story time book.

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

All 26 of Ida Mae's father's cows got loose, and it's up to Ida Mae and her dog Calliope to find them. From the illustrations, we can see that Ida Mae's family are circus people. The illustrations are spectacularly amusing.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this!
Great vocabulary! Wonderful expressions on the faces of those mischievous and adventuresome cows.
(Extra credit to the author for having Grandpa knitting a scarf instead of Grandma!!!!!!!)

[Rima Aroutiounian]

Hilarious children's book. Requires a little bit older audience then kindergartners, i think.Fun book to read may be a little wordy for kindergartners. It has a pattern all through out the story, about cows being loose and messing up someone’ pool and cabbages.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a funny story and the pictures are great. My daughter and I loved going through and picking out all the details.

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for a laugh! Author created an awesome story of zebras, cows and polka dotted dogs. Includes classic southern dialect. Great pictures from a New York Times Bestselling artist.

[Townley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of my favorite books to read to my kids! They love the illustrations and I love reading in a Southern accent! We have been reading it for years and never tire of it!

[Chris Go · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will not believe where these 26 heifers find themselves after getting loose. Of course, there are phone calls!

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

All twenty-six of the cows have gotten loose, and Ida Mae has been charged to stop her day dreaming, and go fetch them. Along with her dog Calliope, she sets out to gather them back, so she can get back to her dreams of how to become famous. Her bovine herding takes Ida on quite the adventure, and in the end, the journey brings her back to hanging in the apple tree, and dreaming of how to get famous.

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humorous and quirky, this was an odd one. It was included in our library's themed story-time kit about cows, and is not likely to have been a book I would have picked off the shelf. However, we read it once and mildly enjoyed it (although the resident preschooler has not [to date] requested a subsequent reading).

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An elementary level picture book about twenty six cows that get loose and the girl who has to round them up from all the weird places they went. Length is elementary and up

[Alexis Fillmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the pictures

[Hannah Shininger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tough to read the story and the dialect and I'm 27 years old. My head was hurting trying to comprehend the actual meaning behind the phrases Ida Mae uses. The images were fun though!

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

When all 26 of the cows get loose and wander Ida Mae is called upon to go round them up. It takes her a few days and several locations but she eventually gets them all back.

A fun tale, great for one-on-one read-alouds. Not recommended for storytime as there is heavy dialect used in the writing possibly making it difficult to read aloud.

[Carol Weis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funtastic!

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

About half way through the book, I started wishing that it was over; it was getting redundant looking for these super flexible and humanoid cows.