"Cows can't jump...but they can swim." And so begins a book all about animals who can't do one thing, but can do another. After a whole parade of animals, it ends with "Sloths can't leap, but they can sleep." Since every animal can sleep (at least I think they can), the book ends there - only after lots of pages with room for laughs, giggles, questions, and explanations.

The back cover of this book reads: "Vibrantly illustrated, Cows Can't Jump will help young readers learn diverse and dynamic words, while absorbing a subtle yet powerful message that builds self-esteem and teaches respect and humility." Quite bold claims for a simple picture book! Good news - it's all true.

Not everyone can do the same things. But everyone has value. And everyone should be loved and respected for the unique gift that they are to the world. On a more basic toddler level, when my oldest son starts getting too obsessed about who is able to run the fastest among his little friends, I can remind him that not everyone will be the fastest (or can even run at all), but may have something else that they are good at instead. And that is okay. Life is not all about running. Or jumping, or diving, or any of the other animal antics in the book. Life is all about respect and love. While the message is subtle, it is there, and just one step closer to raising the kind of adults that I hope to introduce to the world.

"Cows Can't Jump" by Dave Reisman is a beautiful book. It does have a LOT of animal pairs though, and you may start wondering if it will finish. But it does, and just in time for your child to say "again, again!"

Book for Children Ages: 18 months to 5 years old

Reading Tips:

• With young toddlers and babies, take the opportunity to help your child with their language development by making as many of the animal sounds as you know. Bonus, make sound effects for the actions (such as a splash sound for diving).
• Have your child act out the actions in the book. To make it even more fun put away your adult self for a few minutes and get silly with your child, making the motions right along with them.
• Since this book ends with sleeping, it may be a good book to help your child wind down at the end of the day right before bed (not when you are doing the actions above though). You can encourage your child with "and just like the sloth goes to sleep, so do you!" 

Related Discussion Questions:

• What was your favorite animal in the book?
• What are some things that you are good at?
• Can you tell me some things that your brother/sister/friend is good at?
• Which one of the animals is the funniest to you?

Activities for Kids:

• Take a nature walk and see how many animals you can see. What kinds of things are they doing?
• Make your own animal book. Fold several pieces of construction paper together into a book and staple. Then look through magazines, or take pictures of animals where you live - you can even take a picture of your pet. Glue a picture on each left hand page of your book. Then use the right side page to write down things you observed or learned about the animal (such as what they eat, how they move, or what sounds they make).

Cultural Diversity: I love how this book can help children appreciate all different kinds of diversity. You can point out how just like there are all kinds of animals, there are all kinds of people, who are each special and unique.

Children's Book Review Rating: 5 Stars - Beautiful Book*

Nobody likes to read spam so we won't send any!

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*A free copy of this book was given to Beautiful Books for Children for review purposes. Our commitment to our readers and authors is to always give an honest review, even when a review copy is provided. No other compensation was provided for this review.