Dadblamed Union Army Cow

It’s not too often you hear about real-life war stories that involve a cow, and this is why I thought Dadblamed Union Army Cow by Sysan Fletcher was so fascinating. The cow follows the main character that's a soldier through his journeys throughout the Civil war-as he enrolls, practice for battles, relaxes, and when he actually participates in a battle. The young soldier always gets upset at the cow and yells at him for following him, but finally realizes that the cow actually does help him and many other soldiers. At the end of the book, there is “A Note From the Author”, where Fletcher explains how the book is based on a true story, and goes more detail on the story. I like how the author includes this fascinating information with the reader at the end of the book because I’m sure it excites most children when they find out that the story happened in true life.

The last page in the book is a great picture-it’s all the soldiers celebrating a victory with the cow. Throughout the picture book, there is a great deal of colored pencils and water colors use to make the pictures very detailed and colorful. My favorite part is the front and back pages-covered in a cow print that’s so realistic, you would think they’re was a texture to the page.