Hi Everyone,
Here is the link to the story book the Cow Who Climbed the Tree by Gemma Marino. The story is about a cow called Tina, Tina isn’t like the other cows. She believes that the sky is the limit and that everything is possible. But her sisters aren’t convinced—and when Tina tells them she has climbed a tree and met a dragon, they decide that her nonsense has gone too far. Off they go into the woods to find her…and soon discover a world of surprises!
Did you know …
This book is relatively simple. Younger children will enjoy seeing the cows climbing the tree and flying. They may also latch onto some of the repeated words, ‘impossible’, ‘ridiculous’, ‘nonsense’.
Older children will be able to remember the story quickly and be able to look at the book independently once they are familiar with it. It is also a book that early readers might enjoy as it is not text-heavy and there is an element of repetition within it.
SHARING THIS BOOK
The storyline of this book starts before the title page and it is worth drawing your child’s attention to the single cow looking at the moon through binoculars. Your child will learn later that this is Tina and that this page links to the final page, as it shows how Tina is dreaming about going to the moon.
As with many picture books, it is worth reading this story through more than once. With subsequent readings, your child will start to notice some details within the illustrations, such as the owls on the branches of the tree or the pictures of grass on the wall of the cows’ home.
SUPPORTING LEARNING
Personal, social and emotional development
This is a great book to use as a tool to talk about ‘having a go’ at something new. Children can reflect on things that they have tried for the first time, including new foods or trying out a different play opportunity. The book can be referred to when children are reluctant to try out the unfamiliar and, if appropriate, you could develop a ‘have a go’ chart.
The book also looks at how Tina does not allow her sisters to deter her, even though they put her down. With older children, this could lead to a discussion about how we talk to each other and why it is important to be supportive and kind to one another.
Language development
While the book is relatively short and simple, there are some expressions to explore, such as ‘nonsense’, ‘believe her eyes’ and ‘gone too far’, as well as words that may be new to children, such as ‘meadow’, ‘pickled’ and ‘extraordinary’. There is also plenty to discuss with older children – for example, ‘Can cows really climb trees?’
As each of the four cows is slightly different, you could play a listening game where children have to point to the cow you are describing – for example, ‘This cow has one black ear’.
Literacy
Lots of opportunities to encourage early mark making can stem from this book. Tina writes a note to her sisters to tell them what she is going to do. You could post notes around the house and put out notepads for your child to reply or display their own messages. Or create a message board for your child to display notes for from them for other children or family members.
There are also labelled jars and bottles on the cows’ dresser. So, you could provide stickers, pens, plain plastic bottles and jars for your child to fill with different items and then label.
Physical development
Use the story to motivate and set challenges for your child if they lack the confidence to try physical activities such as climbing.
Mathematics
There are plenty of opportunities for your child to count while sharing this book. You could count the cows going up the stairs and also the animals who are flying around with the dragon. There is also positional vocabulary to focus on, such as ‘half way’, ‘on’, ‘up’ and ‘below’.
