Audrey (cow)

by Dan Bar-el

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Pub Date Nov 11 2014 | Archive Date Nov 11 2014

Random House of Canada Limited | Tundra Books

Children's Fiction

Description

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.

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...

Advance Praise

“Move aside Wilbur and Babe. There’s a new farmyard hero in town, and she has no desire to end up hamburger. In a multiple-perspective, documentary-like format, each animal tells its part of the story with terrific humor and personality. …the many voices make the book an ideal read-aloud for a classroom and ideal fodder for readers’ theatre. Bar-el is also unafraid to engage in truly lovely descriptive writing. Part Great Escape, part Hatchet, part Charlotte’s Web, all wonderful.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

“…[a] cleverly constructed story…. Bar-el creates a humorous chorus of perspectives, temperaments, dialects, and cadences….. Thoroughly charming….” – Starred Review, Publishers Weekly

“Animal Farm meets The Great Escape…. The back-and-forth among the characters is over the top… but Bar-el pulls it off with great charm. The result is purely delightful, as are Tatjana Mai-Wyss’s appropriately vintage-looking spot illustrations. The short first-person passages help move the story along, ending with a comedy-of-errors that culminates in Audrey happily living out her days at an animal sanctuary. Bar-el manages to gently and thoughtfully introduce kids to the concept of the abattoir while also underscoring that a farm’s very purpose is producing food. At its heart, Audrey (cow) encourages kids to think even as it entertains – the mark of wonderful children’s literature.” --Starred Review, Quill and Quire