• Punk Farm!!

"Baa, baa, ba-ba, baa, ba, ba-baa, I want to be educated!"

Musicians, Jacob Ungerleider, Eben Viens and Ben Gartenstein have gotten plenty of musical education judging from the way they rocked the book, Punk Farm by Jarrett J. Krosoczka at Strolling of the Heifers.

We hope the Fiddler's Tent will forgive us for the way we all sang and raised a fist to the new barnyard punk rock anthem, The Wheels on the Van.

Watch them perform "old MacDonald Had a Farm" on YouTube.

(Thanks to the Steve Rice @ BUHS, Dairy Godmother, the patient fiddlers, Kamal Ayad for the video, the volunteer chicken, The Costume Ladies and to Jarrett's publisher Random House!)

Parade of Readers

Livestock thanks all the swell young readers that marched with picture books held high in the Strolling of the Heifers parade.

Through heat, a steep climb, and the cheers of 1000's they showed that even books have bovinity divinity.

All our marchers will receive a coupon for a Livestock T-Shirt of their very own. GET YOUR OWN LIVESTOCK T-SHIRT!

See more parade photos and the fabulous buses built by BUHS art students.

• Listen to Toy Farmer!

As part of LIVESTOCK: This Summer's Picture Books of Livestock, Love & Udderstanding, the Dairy Goddess read Toy Farmer (illustrated by Livestock guest, Scott Nash) on the good ole radio.

LISTEN to Amelia Struthers' (aka Dairy Goddess) fabulous performance on WKVT's Strolling of the Heifers Storytime of Scott Nash's illustrated picture book.

Thanks to Scott's publisher, Penguin USA for their swell support.

• Thanks BUHS

We must not go any further without thanking Gary Blomgren and the artists at Brattleboro Union High School for making the groovy Livestock Bus and the Punk Farm Van. They rocked in the parade and were used for good old play under the Livestock tent.

Gary also hosted illustrators Scott Nash & Jarrett J. Krosoczka, artist Nancy Gibson Nash and kidslit gal, Kirsten Cappy after the Strolling of the Heifers in his art classes.

That was pretty cool, but cooler yet was letting us play on the BUHS TV set. Are our smiles wide enough to be anchors?

(Thanks too to my classmate Steve Bailey and the mysterious Physics teacher that helped me get the Bus and Van out of the building. And thanks to the Cappy men who rose at an ungodly hour to deliver the buses to the parade grounds.)

• Knock, Knock?

Who's there?
David Elliott!
David Elliott who?

Author, David Elliott hosting an open mike of brilliant barnyard and other banal jokes. The first four brave souls the approach the microphone were awarded a copy of Wuv Bunnies from Outers Pace by David Elliott (compliments of Holiday House).

After this young man (sporting a Scott Nash t-shirt, I might add) wowed the crowd with his Knock, Knock, his sister came to the stage with this surreal joke--

"Why did the chicken cross the car?"
"Because she though it was the road!"

Trippy.

Thanks to David who left us a giant carrot, the sound guy, the electrician, and David's publishers, Candlewick Press and Holiday House.)

• Giving Voice to Cow

Clever readers attending Strolling of the Heifers and finding their way to the Livestock tent were asked to caption this photograph.

Given that Cow (pictured center) can be a bit confused about her surroundings, her biographers Lori Korcheck and Marshall Taylor asked readers to guess what Cow was thinking.

Here are the WINNING CAPTIONS. These smart folks will receive a signed copy of Adventures of Cow.

Winners in Age 0-7 Category:
"I hear moosic and I think I feel a draft" -Melody Crist

"Is this a big giant place of mirrors? Why are these cows staring at me?" -Dude Durkee

Winners in Age 8-11 Category:
"I hope he's out of breath." -Michaela Russo

"She thinks she is protesting swiss cheese by standing in the cheese hole." -Meara Seery

Winners in Age 12-15 Category:
"Wow, this is a big waterslide." -Taylor Comstock

"I think the Cow is thinking a black hole. He is scared that he is going to get sucked into it." -Kristina Meima

Winners in Age 16+ Category:
"Wow, I can really hear the peepers from this barn window." -Shelly Suponski

"This is one crazy hearing aid!" -Cut Intan Meutia

Cow says you are all as smart as a pencil.

• The Great Cow Count, Er Counted!

For those of you breathless over the outcome of the Great Cow Count in the Livestock tent at Strolling on the Heifers--your waiting is over.

There were 183 cows in the Livestock bus. Amelia Graff who wisely guessed 166 will receive a signed copy of Manny's Cows from author/illustrator, Suzy Becker.

Thanks cow counters! Thanks to Suzy! And thanks to Suzy's publisher, HarperCollins.