Tina is a cow that lives with her three sisters, and while she is curious and adventurous, her sisters are more conventional. They enjoy eating grass in the meadow, while Tina dreams of flying to the moon.
One day, having walked into the wood where her sisters never go, Tina decides to try something new. She climbs a tree. At the top, she finds a friendly dragon, and they talk all afternoon before Tina returns home to talk about her new friend.
Her sisters are disbelieving, saying her story is ‘impossible’, ‘ridiculous’, ‘nonsense’. The next morning, they find a note that Tina has attached to the dresser: she has gone flying with the dragon.
The sisters set out to find her. Eventually, one by one, they climb the tree and spot Tina flying above them. When she asks them to join her, they decide to have a go. This is the first time they have done something new. The story ends with a lovely image of four cows in a rocket, as by now they have learnt that everything is possible.
A GOOD CHOICE
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 children’s attention to the single cow looking at the moon through binoculars. Children 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 picturebooks, it is worth reading this story through more than once. With subsequent readings, children 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.
Language development
While the text 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 writing 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 setting and put out notepads for children to reply or display their own messages. Or create a message board for children to display notes for other children.
There are also labelled jars and bottles on the cows’ dresser. So, you could provide stickers, pens, plain plastic bottles and jars for the children to fill with different items and then label.
Physical development
Use the story to motivate and set challenges for any children who lack the confidence to try physical activities such as climbing.
Mathematics
There are plenty of opportunities for children 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’.
Expressive arts and design
In the story, we see the animals using a rocket and parachutes. You could combine small-world play and junk-modelling materials and challenge the children to make their own flying machines.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Over the course of this monthly series on sharing books with children, Penny Tassoni will look at a range of fiction and non-fiction titles, from rhyming books for babies to picture books that adults and children can explore together.