Where's My Cow?

I enjoyed this book immensely; however, I am a huge fan of discworld. Like others, I was also a tad disappointed that the illustrations of characters varied greatly from that of Paul Kidby. Many authors aren't given the option of picking their illustrator(s) and I wonder if this was the case with this particular book?

I believe this book is geared more for parents who, like me, are discworld fans and plan to prep their children for reading the discworld series. The book functions primarily as an introduction to many characters found in discworld. I was disappointed in regards to this being a children's book. It serves no function for helping to teach your child....anything, really (unless it is to explain some words which may be a tad difficult for the recommended reading age to understand).

As a collector's edition for an older kid or adult already familiar with Pratchett's work, I think it's a great book. I just don't recommend it for small children.

Sam Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork city Watch, has to be home at 6pm sharp every day to read 'Where's My Cow' to Young Sam. He's very good at doing the animal noises "Where's My cow? Is that my cow? It goes 'Oink, oink' It is a pig! That's not my cow!" Then Vimes gets to thinking that Young Sam is growing up in a city, and will only see these animals on a plate, where they go sizzle!.

So he tries a different version, "Where's my daddy? Is that my daddy? It goes "Bugrit! Millenium Hand and Shrimp' It is Foul Ole Ron. That's not my Daddy!" and so on, with a cast of familiar Ankh-Morpork characters, right up to the Patrician. Until Lady Sybil comes in and Vimes quickly returns to the original text.

This book is amusingly illustrated by Melvyn Grant, who I think has captured the Discworld characters very well. A very short book, but it should entertain all Discworld fans, and their children too.

"Where's My Cow?" is a companion book to Terry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel, "Thud!". Or, rather, it is three books in one. It is the children's book that his grace the Duke of Ankh-Morpork Sir Samuel Vimes, Commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, reads without fail every evening to his son, young Sam. And it is the book that Sam Vimes turns the children's story into (after all, why should a city child be read tales about moo-cows and oink-pigs when there are critters like Foul Ole Ron and Coffin' Henry he is much more likely to encounter?). And surrounding these, it is fundamentally a book about Sam Vimes reading a book to his son, a sweet tale of a complex man trying to be a good father. There is enough self-referentiation in this very slender volume to make a post-modern literary critic dizzy and gibber about meta-fiction and meta-meta-fiction. For the Pratchett/Discworld fan, there are a least a few treasures hidden in the illustrations -- such as that portrait of a bearded, black-hatted gentleman on the wall of young Sam's room. And what is that medal worn by Foul Ole Ron? Bugrit!

On some levels, this book may come off as an attempt to milk a chicken. It seems to go over the heads of many children while being unsatisfying for an adult and generally failing to be entertaining to any parties involved. I am sorry that this seems to be the case with many reviewers, and please email me if you want to get rid of any spare copies you may have inadvertently purchased. Apparently, my 2 year old likes chicken milk. The story is silly, she's familiar with Discworld inasmuch as one can be from the few film/cartoon adaptations available in the US, and she loves the hippopotamus sound. We're hoping to have her copy autographed at the NADW convention, and the household has running bets as to whether she will 1) Ask Sir Terry to read the book to her or 2) attempt to read it to him or 3) (bonus points) if she will recognize him without prompting from the pictures on half the books in the house. It appears that many reviewers have experienced disappointment because the book has either overwhelmed a child audience or underwhelmed an adult one, but it works well for my house. I can't supress a silly little smile even the third time she says "More cow?"

Though generally found in the children's picture books, this is actually an illustrated book for adult fans of the Discworld--particularly those familiar with Thud! "Where's My Cow" starts out as the picture book Sam Vimes reads to young Sam in Thud! and Pratchett has, with his usual genius, taken it and given it the ol' Discworld flavor and turned it into a hilarious romp through Ankh-Morpork. Grant's illustrations are wonderful, capturing some of the characters perfectly (Vetinari, in particular) and his fanciful book within a book drawings add a wonderful other-world feel. While not recommended as a children's picture book in general, this is wonderful addition for Discworld fans.

If you've read Thud! then you know that each night, come rain, shine, or impossible traffic Commander Sam Vimes is home by six to read Where is My Cow? to his young son. It is the most popular book in the nursery and he has it memorized.

In this wonderful volume we not only get the original text of Where is My Cow? but we also see Sam reading to young Sam and the one night that he decides to try the unauthorized Where is My Daddy? rendition. After all young Sam lives in Ankh-Morpork, he'll only ever see cows and pigs on his plate. Instead he should search the streets of the city and discover such characters as Foul 'Ol Ron--at least until Lady Sybill finds out.

Just one note though, this isn't a children's book--it is meant to look like one, but you wouldn't read it as a bedtime story to your three year old.

If you've kept up with Pratchett's Discworld novels then this is definately the book for you, especially if you enjoy tales of Sam Vimes and the City Watch. Even the Librarian recommends it with an enthusiastic "Ook!" Of course if you're new to Discworld then this makes a great introduction to the humour of Pratchett without many spoilers as to previous books and their varied and sundry plots. I highly recommend this essential companion to Thud!

I wandered into Pandemonium Books and Games with my six-month-old, and was delighted to see this book, read it straight through, and promptly bought it. The baby's too young to appreciate it, but I've now done dramatic readings for my husband and our housemate.

The pictures are marvelous; I see more details every time I read it. Much of it is clearly taking place in the Sams' imaginations, and it's really marvelous. I love how the toys imitate Young Sam's mood.

I can see how the one commenter found it jarring to see a depiction of a person he'd pictured differently (I never expected CMOT Dibbler to be so... dapper, myself), but I can still enjoy what someone else sees.

So we're in the bookstore, and my husband says "You have to read this book... right now." And then he hands me a large flatboard picture book called "Where's My Cow?" I am baffled. I'm even further baffled when I see "by Terry Pratchett".

We're both huge Pratchett fans... but of course, I've never seen him write a picture book before. I am intrigued. I open it up.

I am laughing from the first page. The laughs get harder and harder as I progress. By the time I get to -- well, a certain city ruler, I have to sit down on the floor of the bookstore because I'm laughing too hard to stand up.

What an absolute treasure. In addition to being the funniest thing I've ever read, it's a fantastic children's book that rings true for any parent. My son loved it, and being ten, of course he's not read Pratchett... yet. We're starting him with Guards! Guards! this summer.

Needless to say, we purchased the book right then, and we're ordering more copies for friends. My only qualm is that I know some people who aren't versed in Pratchett, and will therefore not get it. I'm pushing them to start reading now in preparation for "Where's My Cow?"

Terry Pratchett, you are the MAN.

This childrens book by Terry Pratchett is delightfull for both chilren and adults. If you have ever been a parent that had to read to their children the same book about a million times in a row only to have the little darlings ask for it again, then this book is for you. "Where's my cow?" is the perfect companion to "Thud". Adults will enjoy the book because it is slightly subversive and if you have read "Thud" then you will want to scream with laughter because you are in on the joke. Small children will love it because like every good children's book, it is full of color and great sounds to make. The little darlings will want you to read this book to them the next million time in a row. Could be worse ways to spend quality time with you kids. Highly Recommended.

We bought this book just to see what Sir Terry had done with this story. It's not just the cow book Sam Vimes reads to his son in "Thud!" but a story-within-a-story, writing Vimes and his kid into the narrative.

We passed it on to a young great-nephew... whose dad is a policeman.

"Where is my cow" is an illustrated book for very small Children (2-3 years old?). And it is a collection book for Terry Pratchett Fans. If you have kids and want to introduce them to T.P and reading, this book is sweet and can be used to share time together. If you collect pratchett books this will be a simple object for your library. Cant say it's not ok, simply depends on what you are looking for. It's a child book or a collection Object, nothing more, nothing less. Even if i do possess much more interesting Pratchett Collection things.

A tiny metafictional treasure. Someone else complained that this isn't how they pictured (Old) Sam, but without the breastplate and with his scars cleaned up (for the children), I could see him getting a bit crazy and silly with this time that's "just for the Sams." An enjoyably tender moment shared between a father and son, fictional though they may be.

I'm puzzled by the people who don't think this makes a good book for actual children. They'll have to take that up with my 14-month-old, who demands ("Cow! Cow!") that it be read up to ten times a day. Of course I'm not sure how much she actually understands, but the text and style are highly engaging.

The adults in our family haven't yet read _Thud,_ and this book seems to work just fine for us without it. I'm not sure I would feel that I needed to own this if I didn't have a little kid - once through it would probably be enough for me - but it's a great book for our family.

While I love Terry Pratchett's witty satire in his DiscWorld books, I think he is out of his element in this "children's book". I have a two year old daughter, who like most children her age has a limited attention span. I was looking for something similar to the simple straight-forward version in Thud, something maybe 10-20 pages long (if that) that kind of went through different animals and maybe a dragon or a wizard and finally a cow, so that the young reader can shout "that's my cow!"

What you get is an increasingly convoluted plot that tells the story of Vimes reading to his kid. The illustration is an obviously computer-generated mish mash of busy images which do nothing to enhance the story. So instead of becoming a household name in children's books like your Maurice Sendak's or Dr. Seusses, Pratchett appears to be a money-hungry author looking to capitalize on some cross-merchandising, which he has done before with all the companion books to the DiscWorld.

It seems to me a case of too many people involved in this project, and none of them stopped the process and said, "I think we're trying to do too much with this. Let's remember who our target audience is."

But Pratchett is one of my favorite authors, and I eagerly look forward to his next work of ADULT fantasy.

I think some of the reviewers who didn't think this was a good child's book probably didn't actually read it to a child. My granddaughter (4) wanted it read over and over. The picture of the "scary" troll was a perfect chance to explain that not everyone who looks scary is a bad guy, that troll is Sgt. Detritus who is a very good guy. After I told her that, she explained it to her cousin, her father, and one of my dogs.

It is true that there is more going on than what a small child sees. But the child does see a Daddy reading a story to his little boy and loves the pictures and the silliness, and the adult can enjoy Sam Vimes attempt to make the "book within a book" more appropriate for a city boy and can appreciate that none of it matters. That what matters is that Sam Vimes, whose life is so incredibly busy that he seldom gets enought to eat or sleep, comes home every night at six, and reads "Where's My Cow?" to his son.

I have to disagree with those who said this is not a good children's book. We were given this book as a gift by my aunt who loves cows and has no idea who Terry Pratchett is. She was rather surprised by the book but sent it anyway. I have read some of Pratchett's other books so I knew more of what I was in for when I read it to my daughter, who now insists on hearing it several times a day. She loves the pictures, they are detailed and cartoony at the same time. And she loves all the different animal noises and voices as long as they are read with enthusiasm. I think children love being read to by the adults that love them regardless of the story, and wouldn't you rather read your kids a book you enjoy too? One of my favorite things is hearing how different people read the story, like my mother-in-law. I wish I could find more books like it.

I cut my teeth on Ogden Nash's "Custard The Dragon" and my son gets both Mr. Nash AND Mr. Pratchett -- what more could a mom ask for? I laughed so hard, especially at the "Sizzle". My son loves the disc world characters, especially the swamp dragons and the wee free men. He gets to blame "Mr. Nobody" (i.e, his Rob Anybody) for a wide variety of transgressions (which I don't really let him get away with). Enjoy and remember, it's better if you read it with a small person on your lap.

This is a sad day for me - I feel let down and ripped off by Sir Terry. This is not the "where is my cow" book Vimes reads to his son in "Thud!".

WARNING: This is not a children's book. This is not even a separate book - it does not stand alone. It is only (rather lazy) EXCEPTS from the novel "Thud!" with child friendly pictures by M. Grant; half "where's my cow" and half "where's my daddy?". To appreciate this book, you should first read a Pratchett book with Vimes in it, but preferably "Thud!".

MISREPRESENTATION ALERT: The page shown in the the store "look inside!" feature is not an introduction. This is what you can expect from the whole book. Also, the reviews on the back and the "ook!" book award as "children's winner " are funny and fictitious, but also grossly MISLEADING. No child could enjoy this book - the paper is too thin and light for little fingers to even touch, and most importantly...
< SPOILER ALERT > ...you never find the cow...!

This book is not for kids.
This book is not interesting.
This is a fancy brochure.
This is not my book.

I loved this book and would read it to my younger children with no problems at all. The story line really appeals to children with a sense of humour (my five year old will love it!) The theme of where's my Daddy is familiar to them from a few books so the alterations and the 'citifying' of it just makes it more fun than the bland versions they have had until now.

The illustrations are superb! So what if the characters don't fit the mould you imagined them to be, does every film character look as you imagined from the book? The child is brilliant and so true to life and Sam is wonderful (as are all the others) and done just right so that they appeal to children - for whom book was officialy written anyway.

Well done author and illustrator for a lovely book.

I bought this for myself, but have to hide it from my 2 year old grandaughter. In fact, I am going to order a second copy for her very own! I love it for Pratchett's usual off-the-wall humour, but she loves it in it's own right as a story and really enjoys the illustrations. I definitely think it is aimed at a much younger age level than any of his other children's books, but I would highly recommend it for either anyone with small children, or for the Pratchett fan - just don't expect the usual discworld depth & detail for this book.

An attractively illustrated children's book, 'Where's My Cow?' is entertaining, but I fear that its appeal will largely be limited to people familiar with Pratchett's Discworld humorous fantasy novels. The books is tied in with Pratchett's latest Discworld gem, 'Thud!' in which we learn that Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh Morpork Watch must hurry home every night by 6 to read his 14 month old son, young Sam, his favorite book, coincidentally titled 'Where's My Cow?'. This fictional children's book is depicted as being similar to 'Are You My Mother?' by PD Eastman, in that it follows that tried and true formula of 'Is this what I was looking for? No, this is a ______, this is not what I was looking for,' and so on. The actual real world book 'Where's My Cow', however attempts to combine the fictional book with events in the grown-up novel 'Thud!', and this is where things get odd.

There's plenty of Discworld references to keep readers of these novels grinning, but these elements would prove confusing to a young person, having of course never read a Discworld novel, and to adults looking for a nice book to buy for a youngster. I think they tried to have their cake and eat it too with this book, meaning satisfy long-time Discworld fans, while providing an entertaining read for children. Unfortunately, the disparate ages of Discworld novel fans and children means much about the book would be confusing to the younger reader. They should have kept the book non-Discworld except in flavor and imagery (the swamp dragon present on every page is a very nice touch, for example). One would have to read the novels to understand much of the text in this book, and so, as a children's book, it fails, despite its wonderful artwork.

If your buying this cause you like discworld, it is a children's book. It's not another "the Last Hero" so don't be mistaken. It's a great childens book though, and I recommend it on that premise. And if you collect the discworld series.

My husband and I have been Pratchett fans for years, and never thought we'd be able to share a Pratchett book with our two-year old daughter for many more years. Hah! She loves this book. We have to read it twice before she goes to bed, and if we try to substitute something else, she says firmly, "Cow! Cow!"

This is an honest testimonial - give your kids a chance to enjoy this book!

I got this as a joke gift for my daughter, who also loves Pratchett. The pictures are great, especially the last one (and there's Terry on the wall, too.) I like the story, as well, because I'm familiar with the characters. Commander Vimes is a perfect father.

I'm not sure if children would actually enjoy this book... it might be confusing. On the other hand, if their daddy is reading it to them, it's all good. The librarian gives it an OOK! and I agree.

I LOVED this story! It was cute and endearing and one I could read over and over again. I don't have children; (I read it in the store when I bought "Going Postal") but if I had kids, I would definitely buy this book to read to them. What a great way to introduce kids to the Discworld.

That is probably the question you are asking yourself if you are considering this book. The question you should be asking is "do you love diskworld?" This is sort of a storybook in the childrens' style, but isn't really fun for a child to be read to. This book has the same audience as all of Terry's other Diskworld books. But if you have children it will be even better.

I kind of thought this book would be more like the fictional book "Where's my Cow?" described in "Nightwatch", instead it is a mix of that and the book Sam Vimes thought it should be.

The difference is that the first would be enjoyed by the child, the other would be more enjoyed by a fan of Terry pratchett who is reading to a child.

This is a really cute book. Sam Vimes reads to Young Sam promptly at 6 pm, come h**l or high water. As they go through the book, both Sam's become exceedingly silly and have great fun until Sybil comes up to see what the commotion is all about. This book is yet another insight into the Discworld and shows that there is a kid in all of us looking for an occasional escape. Great fun, this!

My daughters introduced me to the wonderful world of Terry Pratchett, and I've bought a copy of this for each of them by way of thanks. I have no idea if it would mean anything to a person who doesn't know Discworld, but for me it's just lovely.

We got this book as a gift from my Mom-in-law. We are Pratchett fan family.... Logan my 16 month old... LOVES IT, and has loved it for Months on end.... he always grabs that book and hands it to us to read, and re-read and re-read.... you get the picture. LOL. We just love it..... but you know.... I wonder where the cow is???

As with all terry pratchett books enjoyable funny for all ages

and this is no exception just the right length to read to my 6 year old daughter and my 3 month baby son.Recommend this book to anyone with children.

This is an illustrated discworld book and it's very cute/humorous. I read it when I first received it, but I hadn't read any of the other watch novels -- I will say that I reread it again after completing the watch novels and it now falls into place with the proper background. I wanted the book to go along with my other discworld books, but I'm not sure it was worth the money I paid for it....again, it's cute, but I'm not sure this is really a kids book either (as one of the tags is 'childrens books').

I love this one for reading to my son. My wife has not read discworld and jsut doesn't get it, but the little boy does and that's all that matters. It's great to read something quite a bit different than the normal rhymes & animals!

As with all terry pratchett books enjoyable funny for all ages

and this is no exception just the right length to read to my 6 year old daughter and my 3 month baby son.Recommend this book to anyone with children.

I'm dashing this off as a public service to children and their parents. The cover is misleading. I picked this up in a used bookstore because my grandchildren love farm animal books. But many of the very realistic illustrations within(of sick, diseased, mishapen, dangerous, deformed, filthy, perverted, menacing, hideous modern street people) are the stuff of night terrors and definitely not what a loving parent puts in the hands of children. Ok, teens and adults, if this stuff is your idea of btilliant "humor," enjoy. But, parents, beware.

This is not a children's book at all. The pictures could be upseting, there is not story behind it, the language is not what you want your kids to learn at an early age or ever! I have never read this author before, but I will certainly won't do it after this book. I am glad I did not buy it, my son picked it out at the library misled by the front picture.