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Clarabelle

Ages: 6 and up
Pages: 32
List Price: $16.95
Cover: Hardcover
Published: 10/1/2007
ISBN: 1-59078-310-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-59078-310-8
Everyone knows that cows produce milk, which is great for drinking and also is made into cheese, butter, ice cream, and yogurt. But also electricity, fertilizer, and compost for animal stalls? Yes, cows produce these too! A cow is in fact an amazing organism that transforms foods such as hay, corn, and soybean meal into all sorts of other useful products. By featuring a single cow (Clarabelle) and her calf on a large, modern-day Wisconsin dairy farm, internationally acclaimed author Cris Peterson describes all the latest technology that enables farmers to create energy and other by-products from their herds. And yet none of the modern-day machinery matches the miracle of production that is the cow herself. Vibrant, close-up photographs by David Lundquist capture Clarabelle with her herdmates and her newborn calf as well as the family members of Norswiss Farm who live and work together.

Reviews

"Informative, eye-catching. Peterson illuminates facts with comparisons that will grab kids’ attention. Lundquist’s sharp, close-up photographs of Clarabelle, her newborn calves, and the family who owns the farm, including a few elementary-age workers, will easily draw curious kids back into the science. A good addition to classroom units about foods’ origins, this handsome title makes a natural companion to Peterson’s Extra Cheese, Please! Mozzarella’s Journey from Cow to Pizza (1994)."
     —Booklist

"Curious aficionados of animals and milk products will be thrilled with this up-close peek at the daily life of a cow on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. ...Sophisticated ideas and vocabulary make this picture book a good choice for advanced young readers. Brevity and plenty of illustrations make it an accessible, engaging source of quality information."
     —School Library Journal

"There are many features in this book to enjoy, which make it unique, as a beginning book about dairy farming. The up-to-date quality of the book makes it valuable for young students who are learning about current practices in dairy farming."
     —Library Media Connection

In the October 2007 issue of School Library Journal, reviewer Amanda Ross writes of Cris Peterson's Clarabelle:

“Curious aficionados of animals and milk products will be thrilled with this up-close peek at the daily life of a cow on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. ...Sophisticated ideas and vocabulary make this picture book a good choice for advanced young readers. Brevity and plenty of illustrations make it an accessible, engaging source of quality information."