Short Form (All Genres)

Name: Alisha Reid

Title: Fair Cow Author: Leslie Helakoski

Illustrator: Leslie Helakoski Publisher/Year: 2010

Genre: Modern Fantasy

Summarize the content of the book

Fair Cow is a story about a cow named Effie and her pig friend named Petunia. Effie always dreamed
of being a state-fair cow. Trying to help, Petunia decides to help Effie change her hair, dye her fur,
lose weight, and change her walk. When Effie gets to the fair she notices how beautiful all the other
cows are. But they dont want to have any fun doing what cows do because they feel like it will mess
up their appearance. They dont even want to drink from the pond because they think it will make
them bloated. Effie drinks from the pond and smiles at her own reflection. At the end of the story,
Effie ends up winning the fair cow ribbon even though she is dirty, and her hair is a mess. Petunia asks
her how she did it even though she is a mess and Effie replies, Nothing a little Effie couldnt fix.

Explain how the book appeals to children, their interests, developmental levels, fun
illustrations etc. Give specific examples from the book:
Children love talking animals. It enlightens their imaginations. The pictures in this story are
very cartoonish but they depict what the author is saying. For instance, when Petunia helps
Effie change her hair, the paintings show Effie under a hair dryer while she drinks water and
reads the paper. Young readers would find this funny. In some parts of the book, Helakoski
has tongue twisters like on this page when she says, she dreamed of being beautiful, of
billowing blue ribbons and big, bodacious barns which not only are entertaining but can help
children practice speech skills. The overall theme is a good lesson for children too. Effie
decides not to focus on her appearance and to just enjoy life. She ends up winning in the end.

Rate the book 3 1 2 3

Explain your rating.

This is a cute, entertaining story with a good lesson attached to it.