Thursday, July 26, 2018

Three Humorous Animal Stories


Angus and Sadie by Cynthia Voight.  A young couple run a small family farm with two cows, two barn cats, a house cat, and a small flock of sheep.  One winter they decide that they want to get a dog.  They do some research and decide a border collie would be a good fit for them.  The next spring, they go to the animal shelter to pick out a puppy.  As it happens, there is a litter of border collie mix pups there.  Mister chooses a big, bold, black-and-white male while Missus chooses a small, shy, red-and-white female.  They end up adopting both and name the male Angus and the female Sadie.  The story describes the puppies as the grow, learn about the farm, and go through training.  The puppies’ misunderstandings of the human world and words are delightfully entertaining, especially for anyone who has had a dog (or a child).  Not only is it a fun story, but there are some deep lessons to be learned as well: such as accepting others as they are and appreciating their differences, overcoming your fears, and celebrating the accomplishments of others.  The lessons are not spelled out explicitly in the story, but they are quite clear to the discerning reader. This is one of my favorite books; it can be a fun read-aloud for younger children and can be used to spark some deeper conversations with older children about how we should treat one another.



Young Fredle by Cynthia Voight.  This takes place on the same farm as Angus and Sadie, but this time it’s about a young house mouse who finds himself in the great big scary outside world.  Through a variety of adventures, he learns that there is a whole lot more to the world than what the house mice have always known.  Gentle Sadie shows up in this story and welcomes the mouse as a friend.  Again, like its predecessor Angus and Sadie, this story has some wonderful lessons about overcoming prejudices toward those who aren’t exactly like you and learning to appreciate their differences.  Another fun book to read-aloud to the kids and to let them enjoy reading on their own over and over again.  I found this book at the library, but thought it was worth having a copy of our own so that the kids can read it anytime they want.


Audrey: Cow by Dan Bar-el  One of my kids found this at the library and I read it after they were done with it.  It was inspired by the true story of a cow who escaped from a slaughterhouse and evaded capture for more than a week.  When she was finally caught, she was spared and sent to a sanctuary farm.  This story is told by the various animals on the farm and in the forest as if they are speaking to a reporter, each interjecting their own side of the story.  Audrey grows up loving her life on Bittersweet Farm, making friends with one of the dogs and the farmer’s little girl.  One day she finds out that there are different kinds of cows: some are dairy cows who stay at the farm their entire lives, others are NOT dairy cows and periodically disappear on a big red truck never to be seen again.  To her great dismay, Audrey finds out that she is NOT a dairy cow and is destined to one day take a ride on that fateful red truck. With encouragement from her mother, she begins to plot and plan a way to escape when that time comes.  The farm animals help, and after she makes good on her escape, the forest animals help her hid from her pursuers for more than a week.  It’s a humorous story as the author explores the world through the eyes of the farm animals.  I’d recommend this book for ages 10 and up, as some the concepts or jokes may be too difficult for younger ones to get.


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