Not Now! Said the Cow

My 22 year old daughter texted me today for the title of this book and she thought it was Not Now Said the Cow but I couldn't remember-thank goodness for the internet!!!! So many fun memories came back of reading this book over and over and over. And just to hear Joanne Oppenheim's name again after all these years brought back memories too. I know I still have this book in my house-I'm not sure where it is tucked away but I am positive I still have it - I would not part with it. Please buy it for your child and read it every day. Seventeen years from now your child will still remember it fondly and so will you!!!!!

I don't get it. This is a great book and somehow it is not in print. What gives? "Not Now! Said the Cow" is essentially a fun rework of the book classic "Little Red Hen". In this book it's not a hen who finds wheat that is at the center of the action, but a crow who stumbles across a sack of corn seed. And instead of Hen's dog and cat friends who refuse to do a little work, it's a barnyard full of critters who refuse to get involved, at least not until the very end when the Crow turns the corn into popcorn. This book is listed as a Level 2 reader which the publisher defines as being for "children who are just beginning to read by themselves but may need a little help." I have `searched' and found it listed on various education sites as a first or second grade reader. In any case, this book is not for newly emergent readers. There are too many words per page, contractions, and the vocabulary that is not simple enough. [I have a beginning reader - just turned 6.] Vocabulary includes words like: shelled, built, fire, popcorn, shuck, brayed, baaed, mooed, donkey, squealed, burning, whinnied, etc. Here is a page from the middle of the book so you can judge for yourself: "Not my job," grunted the Hog. "Don't be funny," squealed the Bunny. "Why me?" brayed the Donkey. "Nix, nix!" peeped the Chicks. "I'm asleep," baaed the Sheep. "Not now," mooed Cow. "Oh," cawed Crow. "Then I will do it ALL BY MYSELF." Five Stars. [A-]. Good Read-aloud. Cute artwork. Has a moral. Good book for toddlers on up. First Graders should find it an interesting/satisfying read. We borrowed it from the library and are now looking for a copy for our own.

The repeated rhymes in this book allow the beginner to memorize the words by sight quickly. It is a zany twist on the famed little red hen story. It is a delightful book!