The Cow Said BOO! Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
“Button’s rhyming text hits at just the right pace, encouraging participation from little readers. 
Kids will love being in on the joke that the cow isn’t really a ghost, and the silliness of the animal sounds when they all catch the cow’s cold will certainly elicit many a giggle. Carter’s illustrations include subtle hints at fall and Halloween even though the text doesn’t explicitly mention the season: Pumpkins dot the field, there’s a jack-o’-lantern shirt on the clothesline, and leaves float across the pages. The real visual highlight, however, is the progression of frames showing the fox sneaking through the field of snoozing animals. The glow of the moonlight acts as a spotlight on the fox, drawing readers’ attention to the action the animals don’t notice. The rear endpapers present five illustrated steps to “wash your hooves and paws!” and keep colds away.
An infectious seasonal read-aloud.”
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School Library Journal
“The rhyming text and repeated refrain are sure to engage the smallest readers and listeners. Bright, energetic watercolors show all the action and some of the funny contrasts in the story. There are also timely suggestions for handwashing and helping others stay healthy. A terrific story time read-aloud, this works for Halloween events or any time of year.
VERDICT A silly rhyming story that will have toddlers giggling along.”
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CM Reviews
“Button’s rollicking rhyming text is humorous and catchy. This simple story begs to be read aloud with gusto and presents a great opportunity for teachers and parents to encourage active participation from youthful listeners.
The lively pictures, with their abundant frenetic activity, match the fun-loving text. The rendering of the sick cow will bring giggles galore to youngsters. This original art is created with coloured pencil, water-colour and digital media.
Aided by the farm cat and friends, the endpapers of The Cow Said Boo! provide helpful hints for cold prevention.”
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Canadian Children’s Book Centre
“A cow’s congestion causes consternation on the farm. Woozy and miserable from a head cold, the bleary bovine doesn’t feel or sound like herself. Her usual genteel salutations of “moo” come out as “BOO!” When she accidentally stumbles into some washing hung out to dry and gets tangled in a bedsheet, she doesn’t look like herself anymore either. Her barnyard pals don’t recognize her and react with alarm. In the evening, too stuffed up to sleep, the cow spies a foxy intruder and knows exactly what to do to bravely save her friends.
Alice carter’s watercolour illustrations have autumnal background details, with bales of hay, pumpkins in the field, and a whimsical jack-o-lantern T-shirt blowing in the clothesline. To show their appreciation, the animals comfort their under-the-weather hero with sweet gestures: the goat offers tissues, the pig plays a song on a ukulele, and the horse brings a bowl of soup.
This boisterously fun picture book offers plenty of wordplay and a healthy dose of humor, from the rooster’s musings of “What do we cock-a-doodle-do?” to the catchy refrain of “the cow said BOO!” Perfect for reading aloud, there are many opportunities for active participation, including a review of handwashing hygiene on the endpapers to “Scare away colds.””
Seattle Book Review
“Author Lana Button has written an adorable little story that will have little listeners giggling as poor Cow tries to “Moo,” and can’t seem to do anything the way she wants. Absolutely charming illustrations by Alice Carter are filled with fun details that will keep little eyes searching the illustrations for more silliness. This book will have youngsters asking for it to be read over and over, but it’s so much fun, adults won’t mind at all.”
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Youth Services Book Review
“This is a fun story in rhyming text about a cow with a cold. Because her nose is stuffy, the cow’s “Moo” sounds like “Boo.”
The illustrations, created with colored pencil, watercolor and digital media, are filled with detail and expression. This is a cute story for teaching hygiene to little ones. The plentiful pumpkins and autumn leaves make this a good choice for a not-so-scary Halloween read aloud.”
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Katrina Yurenka, Youth Services Book Review
“The illustrations are bright, colorful with pumpkins added to depict the season…A good storytime choice for very young ones at Halloween and/or Autumn time. The rhyming text and repeated refrain are engaging.”
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Parents Magazine
“In this infectious Halloween read-aloud, the cow’s friends think she’s a ghost because her cold makes her “moos” come out as “boos.” Rhyming text and a repeated refrain swoop kids into the silly antics. The kindness that the cow receives from her pals and how she pays it forward is the real treat. Ages 4 to 7”
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The International Educator
“Not specifically about Covid, but about communicable diseases in general and especially helpful in Kindergarten classes, The Cow Said Boo by Lana Button, illustrated by Alice Carter is a fun farm romp when poor cow catches a cold and can’t say ‘Moo!’ but says ‘Boo!’ instead. The other animals nurse cow back to health but once cow is better, rooster says “cock-a-doodle-CHOO!” A nonfiction back page talks about washing hands to prevent colds.”
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YA Books Central
“THE COW SAID BOO! is a cute story about a cow with a cold. The cow wants to say hello to her friends, but with her cold, she says Boo! The cold also makes her a little clumsy, and she runs into a clothesline, picking up a sheet. She scares the other animals on the farm without meaning to. When everyone else is asleep, the cow spots a fox sneaking onto the farm, and she uses her cold to say boo and scare it away. The other animals say she is a hero and they help nurse her back to help – but then they all get a cold.
What I loved: This was an overall silly story that children will giggle at. Readers who have had a cold before will understand the way that it changes the way you talk. The text has a good rhythm that reads very smoothly. The colorful illustrations add to the fun of the light-hearted story.”
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@jmebills
“What do you get when you cross a cow, a cold, and a bedsheet?
A hilarious picture book of course! …
I found the rhyme scheme in this book delightful, as well as the illustrations.
It is the perfect silly-fun for Halloween! (Although, I am sure we are going to enjoy it all year round 😁!)”
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CanLit for Little Canadians
“Lana Button gives us a story in which a difficulty becomes a blessing, reminding young readers that face-value is just that. Sure, the cow looked like a ghost and frightened her friends with her nasally voice but she used that to her advantage to help her farm pals in the end. Ultimately, they appreciate her efforts, cheering her and even nursing her back to health, though they all catch their own colds and speak with transformed voices. (They would be wise to follow the illustrated instructions on the back end-papers for scaring away colds by washing hands.) Lana Button gives us some silliness and some wisdom, a great way for young children to learn important lessons like how to keep colds at bay and not being too quick to judge.
Ottawa’s Alice Carter created her art with coloured pencils, watercolour and digital media to give The Cow Said Boo! the simplicity and mischievousness that speaks to young children. They know about getting colds and how it feels but Alice Carter makes it more goofy than ridiculous and definitely less miserable than the common cold. From her blue skies and sickly yellow green fields–yes, sickly is a colour–there’s some subtle messaging but the animals are the stars with their brightly-hued coats and cartoonish faces and forms. Moreover, because young children are familiar with animals and their sounds, especially on farms–even if they’ve never visited a rural community–Alice Carter’s depictions of Lana Button’s characters will make them smile.”
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Little Bookworm Club
“When Cow gets a terrible cold making all his moo’s sound like boo’s and has an unfortunate mishap with a sheet all the farm animals mistake him for a ghost. They run and hide away, but Cow finds a crafty way to reveal his true identity and save his friends from some real danger.”
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Storytime with Stephanie
“The Cow Said Boo is a delightfully perfect fall story. It has a lovely rhyme to it that rolls right off your tongue. To me the best rhyming stories are ones you can just pick up and catch the beat right from the first page. Also, there is some excellent repetition throughout the story in the line, “the cow said Boo!” making it perfect for a read aloud. You can get your listeners to help you with that part of the story and even say the Boo part, which in my experience children LOVE to do. Another excellent thing about this rhyming tale is that after children have heard the story a few times, they will be able to retell it. If you are a teacher having a retelling station featuring this book would be amazing and so fun for your little readers!
Alice Carter’s illustrations are lively and colourful and very very funny. Children will love seeing the animals’ expressions when they think the cow is a ghost in the farmyard. Also, there is a lot of Halloween imagery making it a fantastic, non-scary story to share at Halloween time. Also, the illustrations are nice and bold, meaning if you are sharing the story with a group, the illustrations will be highly visible.”
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Sherly Books
“I love the story & how the end papers help kids “scare away colds” with the cutest hand-washing instructions ever. And your littles will love all the sound words like “cock-a-doodle Choo”! A perfect read-aloud, but probably not at bedtime because there will be far too much giggling! Highly recommended”
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The Kid Lit Mama
“🎃The Cow Said BOO! | @pajamapressbooks | @lanabutton & @alicecarterillustration | This playful picture book tells a story of the day a cow had a cold so bad that her “moo” came out as “boo.” The cow’s tough day will take a turn as the cow becomes a hero amongst her farm friends!”
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Fab Book Reviews
“The Cow Said BOO! is energetic and fun, with a delightful refrain (perfect for chanting), the bustling, sweet illustrations that make the picture book terrific read aloud material. Perfect for Halloween or seasonal fall reading, or for readers looking for a giggly, endearing and rhyming story, The Cow Said BOO! is a delight. Endpapers at the book’s end includes an adorably illustrated spread on how to ”scare away colds” with five steps for washing ”your hooves and paws” to sparkly clean and dry.”
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Canadian Bookworm
“This delightful tale is perfect for coming up to Hallowe’en. The book begins with the cow hanging out her laundry while dealing with a head cold. Instead of saying “Moo!”, it sounds like she is saying “Boo!”, so when she stumbles into the clothesline and gets a sheet caught around her, she ends up scaring all her other farm animal friends by looking and sounding like a very large and scary ghost….
The back inside cover offers instructions on how to wash your hands (or hooves and paws!) properly to keep from getting or passing along a cold through touch.
The illustrations really bring the story to life and show the personalities of the animals.
A fun and lighthearted read about a group of friends.”
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Charlotte Offsay (Instagram)
“A sweet story complete with a twist ending that will encourage all readers to wash hands and work to avoid spreading germs.”
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