Title: Big Pink Tongues
Author: L.S. Ede
Year published: 2012
Publisher: L.S. Edes
Number of pages: 44
Recommended age: 4+
Son Rating: ★★★★☆
Mom Rating: ★★★★☆
Reviewed by: Renee and Dominic (Mother and Son)
Summary (from back cover):Big Pink Tongues is the first in a series of Show Me A Farm, Tell Me A Story books for children. In the story, children will meet the motherly Mrs. Irwin and her inquisitive calf Cha-cha, the dizzy Mrs. Omo and her madcap calf Bubbles. Through their adventures readers will discover funny and unexpected things about the lives of dairy cows in a story they will love!
SON SAYS
What it’s about: This book is all about cows. There is a baby cow in the book.
What I liked and disliked: I liked that you learned things in the book like cows don’t have top front teeth. Even my Mom didn’t know about that. I also learned that when the bigger cows make baby cows they go away for a bit to take care of their babies. I learned that baby cows drink milk from buckets.
I liked the pictures of the cows. The one of the baby was cute. I thought the cover of the book was really funny because the cow is sticking his tongue in his nose. The names of the cows were funny too. I really liked the name of the baby one, Cha-cha.
I didn’t like that the book was super-duper long. I would have liked it better if it was shorter.
My bottom line: I liked this book and I would recommend it to little kids.
MOM SAYS
What it’s about: This little book introduces us to the daily activities of a dairy farm from the perspectives of the cows themselves. The book begins with the birth of an adorable calf, Cha-cha, who is very inquisitive about the environment she is born into; and, who is introduced by his mother – Mrs. Irwin – to what happens on the farm on a daily basis.
What I liked and disliked: I quite enjoyed reading this little book. Having grown up in a rural area surrounded by cows, I was already quite familiar with the operations of a dairy farm. In fact, I have two brothers who worked in our local “Creamery” where milk would be trucked in and be bottled and processed into butter and other dairy products for mass consumption. That being said, I did not know that cows do not have top front teeth! How did I not know that?!
It was truly a delight to look at the real-life photos of the cows, the farmer, and the farm in general. They are beautifully rendered photos and the ones of the calves are so adorable. Any young child would love those. I especially loved the cover of the book – by far the best photo! However, I do think that after a while, the photos became repetitive and didn’t offer anything new. There were LOTS of photos of cows!
As mentioned by my son above, I do agree that the book is a bit long. The word density on some pages is probably a bit much young children (up to 80 or so words per page). One or two sentences maximum per page would have been more appropriate for the target audience. Word density coupled with a high number of pages (44) would make the book difficult to retain the attention of very young children.
My bottom line: I think that this book would be a very interesting read for children who have never been to a farm. It has lots of information about cows and farming and can be a valuable tool in explaining to children where there food comes from. With less pages and shorter text per page, I think this book would be appropriate for younger children, but as is, I would recommend the book for ages 4 and up.
*** Big Pink Tongues was provided to us by the author free-of-charge in exchange for our honest review. ***
Want to Submit Your Own Review?
If you want to submit a children’s book review of this or another children’s book, please click on Guest Reviewers above in the Navigation bar.
Where to Buy?
Our Policy for Children’s Book Reviews
