Audrey (cow)

by Dan Bar-el

Overview

Audrey is a cow with poetry in her blood, who yearns for the greener pastures beyond Bittersweet Farms. But when Roy the horse tells this bovine dreamer that she is headed for Abbot's War, the slaughter house, Audrey knows that she must leave her home and friends sooner than she ever imagined. With the help of a whole crew of animals and humans alike, Audrey attempts to escape the farm she lives on--and certain death. Cleverly written as an oral account, this unique illustrated tale of an animal on the run, told "to camera", uses over thirty narrative voices, including six humans, four cows, three sheep, two sheep dogs, one pig and a very silly rooster. Full of heart and humor, Audrey (cow) is ultimately a very human story about life and death, friendship, and holding on to one's dreams--based more or less on a true story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770496040
Publisher:	Tundra
Publication date:	11/11/2014
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Dan Bar-el is an award-winning children's author, educator and storyteller. His writing includes chapter books, picture books, and most recently, a graphic novel. For the past twenty years, Dan has been working with children ages 3 to 13. He's been a school age childcare provider, a preschool teacher, a creative drama teacher and creative writing teacher. These days, when not writing, travelling around the country presenting his book, storytelling or leading various workshops at schools and libraries, he teaches creative writing courses to children with the organization CWC. Dan lives in Vancouver, BC and shares his life with artist and goldsmith, Dominique Bréchault, and Sasha, the most adorable cat in the known universe.

Tatjana Mai-Wyss was born in Switzerland. She has always loved books, so bringing stories to life with her art is the best job she can imagine. She has illustrated a number of books for children. Surprisingly, many of them feature cows! A vegetarian herself, Tatjana can relate to Audrey's desire not to be eaten. Tatjana currently lives in South Carolina with her family and a small menagerie of pets. See more of Tatjana's art at http://tatjanamaiwyss.com

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/13/2014
More than 30 voices, both animal and human, contribute to this cleverly constructed story of a cow bound, like her mother before her, for the abattoir (or “Abbot’s war” as the animals of Bittersweet Farm call it). Framing the story as a series of interviews, Bar-el (Nine Words Max) creates a humorous chorus of perspectives, temperaments, dialects, and cadences. A dreamer and a poet, Audrey refuses to accept that she’s headed “straight to the meat section of the supermarket” and becomes determined to flee the farm. With the help of her barnyard friends—including a clever dog, a “master strategist” pig, bickering geese, a pompous rooster, and a nosy horse—Audrey pulls off a comically orchestrated escape, aka “Operation Urgent Fury.” As a bumbling reporter and a wildlife enforcement officer follow her trail, Audrey relies on forest animals to elude capture and find her happy ending. Mai-Wyss’s (A Giraffe Did One) b&w watercolors bolster the lighthearted atmosphere of this thoroughly charming story of a cow determined to chart her own destiny, inspired by an actual incident. Ages 7–10. Author’s agent: Hilary McMahon, Westwood Creative Artists. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Selected, Kirkus Review's list of Best Children Books, 2014
Selected, New York Public Library’s list of 100 Children’s Books for Reading and Sharing, 2014
Selected, Today's Parent's list of Top 10 Middle Grade Books, 2014
Starred in CCBC’S Best Books for Kids & Teens (2015)


PRAISE FOR Audrey (Cow):

"Move aside Wilbur and Babe. There's a new farmyard hero in town, and she has no desire to end up hamburger [...] Part Great Escape, part Hatchet, part Charlotte's Web, all wonderful." —Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

"Thoroughly charming." —Starred Review, Publishers Weekly

"[P]urely delightful [...] At its heart, Audrey (Cow) encourages kids to think even as it entertains - the mark of wonderful children's literature." —Starred Review, Quill & Quire

"This is no simple farm story; it is a powerful tale that takes a philosophical stance against today's meat industry [...]  A unique approach to a sensitive topic." —Starred Review, School Library Journal  

“With so many unique characters and voices, the read-aloud possibilities, whether at home or in the classroom, are nearly endless. At times poignant and at others laugh out-loud funny, this insightful, touching story is a wonderful addition to any bookshelf.” —Canadian Children’s Book News

From the Publisher

★ 12/01/2014
Gr 3–5—A courageous cow poet, a canine companion, an eavesdropping horse, an intelligent pig, and many more amazing animals call Bittersweet Farm their home. After a mother Charolais cow is taken away to "Abbot's War," her calf, Audrey, begins to ask questions of her fellow animal pals. Eventually, she discovers that "Abbot's War" is no cow paradise; it's a slaughterhouse. The poetic cow quickly puts her energy into finding a way to avoid the same fate. She attempts, but fails, to starve herself, learns how to jump a fence, and more. Ultimately, she is able to use the help, knowledge, and experience of her farm friends to achieve her goal. This is no simple farm story; it is a powerful tale that takes a philosophical stance against today's meat industry. Written in transcripts of interviews from the perspective of various animal and human characters, the book emphasizes the emotional reactions of those surrounding Audrey. These monologues give readers the opportunity to discern different perspectives about the same events. Readers must make conclusions and predictions about the events, weighing the relative reliability of the various narrators. A unique approach to a sensitive topic.—Mary-Brook J. Townsend, The McGillis School, Salt Lake City, UT

School Library Journal

★ 2014-07-22
Move aside Wilbur and Babe. There's a new farmyard hero in town, and she has no desire to end up hamburger. Audrey isn't like the other cows. They might accept their lot as "food cows," but she has other ideas. After her mother is taken away to a slaughterhouse, the feisty Charolais concocts an elaborate escape for herself using the expertise and help of her barnyard friends. However, the escape itself proves to be only half the battle, and Audrey's experiences in the wild forest with its unpredictable denizens put both brains and moxie to the test. In a multiple-perspective, documentary-like format, each animal tells its part of the story with terrific humor and personality. From pompous Charlton the rooster, who considers his role in the story a moment of deus ex machina ("as the Romans would call it"), to a parliament of consensus-minded sheep to a thoroughly prejudiced squirrel, the many voices make the book an ideal read-aloud for a classroom and ideal fodder for readers' theater. Bar-el is also unafraid to engage in truly lovely descriptive writing (one cow's grief over losing her son is said to be akin to "a mist like we'd get on gray, foggy mornings that made the farm seem as if it were fading away along its edges"). Part Great Escape, part Hatchet, part Charlotte's Web, all wonderful. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews