Mrs. Wow Never Wanted a Cow

by Martha Freeman

When a cow unexpectedly shows up on Mrs. Wow’s lawn, her lazy dog and cat think they should teach her their chores, so they can rest. They find out that the cow is no good at catching mice or being a watchdog. But Mrs. Wow knows something the cow can do, and it makes the chores worth it! The funniest rhyming bovine Beginner Book since Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?

Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Humor, Friendship, Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Martha Freeman was born in Southern California in 1956. It is not actually true that pterodactyls ruled the skies then, but her three children believe this.

Martha graduated from Glenoaks Elementary, Woodrow Wilson Junior High, and Glendale High School. Until Martha came along, Glendale High's most famous graduate was a fellow named Marion Michael Morrison. He later went into the film game and changed his name to John Wayne, which you might very well do, too, if you were a boy named Marion in unenlightened times. In 1978, Martha graduated from Stanford University with a degree in history. She remains Stanford's most illustrious graduate if not its most wealthy.
Stink Bomb Mom

Martha's First Book.

Martha worked as a newspaper reporter, copy editor, substitute teacher, college lecturer, advertising copywriter, and freelance magazine writer before she found her true calling as a writer of children's books in 1994. Her first book was "Stink Bomb Mom," now, tragically, out of print. She has since published 14 more books for children and as you read this, she is probably working on another one. Besides writing and visiting schools to talk to students, Martha teaches occasional classes at Penn State University, volunteers as an emergency medical technician, and works for a wonderful little company called Wall Street Communications. She is a very busy person.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to begin by describing the illustrations in this story picture book. While they may not be drawn accurately, the illustrations contain vivid colors that will appeal to children. The pictures also help support the text, so if the reader is a beginning reader (which is the intended audience) it will help them to understand the text.

Speaking of the text in this picture storybook, I would like to mention that the phrases are done well, making it easy for beginning readers to understand the story. It is possible for this story to be told using harder words, more complex situations, etc. But, the author kept in mind the young audience. This is essential when writing books for young readers, and Martha Freeman did very well.

I also enjoyed the message that this story conveyed: sometime what may not seem useful may become useful in the long run, nothing is as it first seems. This is important for everyone to remember, especially young kids.

When thinking of all these three aspects together, this book is a great beginner books for children to read and become familiar with.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter picked this one out, probably for the bright picture of the farmer and the cow on the cover. This is a cute story about a woman who never really wanted a cow, but one shows up in her yard. Her lazy dog and cat try to train the cow to do their tasks, but it doesn't work. The woman decides to keep the cow anyway, so she doesn't have to mow the grass and she can make ice cream to bribe the cat and dog to do their chores. The illustrations throughout are simple and brightly colored.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There will never be another like Dr. Seuss, though many have tried. This I Can read it book, which is part of the Cat in the Hat beginning book library is just such a try. On its own it’s a fine book about a dog, a cat, a woman, and the new cow in their life. It has it’s rhymes, and it’s tongue twisty words, and it is a fun story. But it will never be a Seuss book.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mrs. Wow Never Wanted a Cow by Martha Freeman- Illustrator Steven Salerno- Hindi Language translation by Arvind Gupta- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates the story of Mrs. Wow who has two pets a dog named “Bho” and a cat named “Mew”. Dog has the responsibility to protect the house from strangers while the cat is responsible to catch mice. Both pets are lazy and do not bother about their duties. One day while Mrs. Wow is mowing her lawn, a cow comes in the way. Her two pets wish that the cow should be taught about their duties and Mrs. wow should own this cow also. After the cow is a part of their family, the two pets try to teach the cow about their duties but the cow is unable to learn to catch mice and to bark on strangers. Mrs. Wow informs her two pets that cow and give milk and eat grass. She owns the cow so that she will not need to mow her lawn and second that her milk can be converted to ice cream. Both her pet like ice cream and now they perform their daily duties diligently. Coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.

[Lupe Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book with lots of fun illistrations and vivid colors. I liked how the cat and dog wanted to keep the cow so that it could do their jobs but later realized that the cow was never going to do their jobs. I also really liked how Mrs. Wow changed her mind about not wanting a cow and ended up keeping it.

[Angel Lederhause · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didnt care for this one.

[Haaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. Mrs. Wow's solution seemed to fix things up in the end.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a humorous tale with colorful illustrations - perfect for beginning readers! It's a fun, fast read.

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/12/21 Read with Julia

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was cute--I was glad Mrs. Wow kept the cow.

It didn't catch Lily's interest so much, though, and we needed to make some space, so we passed it along.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mrs. Wow has a cat named Meow and a dog named Bow-wow, but she never wanted a cow.

The words rhyme but the book doesn't have a rhyming tempo. The art has a fun retro style.

[Sophia Katouzian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh

[Kikii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really easy to read 💛

[Smars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, funky illustrations. The soul sister of the Ferdinand children’s story.

[michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing special. I didn't like how they named the lady Mrs. Wow when it wasn't really for rhyming purposes. I also didn't think the message was anything of importance and wouldn't have fun rereading this book often. Also, I don't think dogs chasing mailmen should be considered a chore... Haha

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar to Seuss and Eastman, this is a rhyming early reader picture book about Mrs. Wow, her lazy animals, and a cow. The easy humor, brightly colored illustrations and simple text make this a good choice for beginning readers.

[Edward Creter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part of the Dr. Seuss pre-schooler's line up division and it's so sweet! Mrs. Wow has an issue with her cat and dog, both of which are endearing, neither of which want to do chores. So she does the one thing she would otherwise never consider: purchase a cow that REALLY does nothing. Yet even the cat and dog accept and value the cow as family, which I think Dr. Seuss would've liked and wanted for kids: a gentle story of animals and people without the usual animal abuse in most kids lit (perfect example: Old Yeller and Call of the Wild, where the dog in both books gets killed. How sad! And THIS i9s kids lit? Just thought I'd mention.) so this book is a breath of fresh farm air. HAVE A COW, MAN!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

One day a cow showed up on Mrs. Wow's yard. She never wanted a cow, but she got one anyway. Her cat named Meow and dog named Bow-Wow wanted to keep the cow and teach it how to do their chores. (Yes, the rhyming happens throughout the entire book.) The cow doesn't learn how to catch mice or scare away the mailman, but he does eat the grass so Mrs. Wow doesn't have to. She decides to keep the cow to make ice cream for her lazy, crazy pets who will do anything for a treat--even their chores!

Great for preschool or toddler storytimes.

[Melissa Dwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally rated G by Jodi Smith
This book will have the Cat in the Hat appeal. It is a great read aloud book for beginning readers. It has an upbeat plot that the readers will like. Puts me in mind of the little red hen for some reason.
This book will also teach some literary terms like consonance, assonance, rhyme and rhythm. My concern is the binding. The stitches are visible.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was perfect to read with my 4-year-old who is just learning to read. It has repetitive words and a lot of easy words like cow, wow, cat dog, eat, etc. so I would read the harder words and let him read the easy ones.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute easy reader story about a cow who finds an owner.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to sound out and a cute story.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story, silly pets.

[Kid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good vehicle to talk about chores and responsibility in a fun way.

[Katie]

III

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think my son totally "got" this book, but he liked the cat and dog in it and I thought it was pretty cute and a fun book with that "classic" feel.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellie read to mom

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy, Lazy pets are a popular topic in this household.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Pets trying to give their chores to the cow when Mrs. Wow finally finds a use for her.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous, clever early reader. Highly recommended.