The Cow Buzzed

Yes this book does foster development of scientific processes. The animals in the book are communicating with one another. There are also several points of the story where predictions could be made.

Author: Andrea Zimmerman
Illustrator: Paul Meisel
Year Published: 1995

Science Topics

Minimum Suggested Grade Level

Prekindergarten

Maximum Suggested Grade Level

2nd Grade

Summary

In this story, a bee sneezes and gives a cow his cold...and his buzz. The cow starts sneezing and soon enough all of the farm animals are catching each other's noises.

Evaluation

Appropriateness: Low
Authority: Low
Accuracy: Low
Liteary Artistry: High
Appearance: High

Questions

Does the book foster development of processes?

Yes this book does foster development of scientific processes. The animals in the book are communicating with one another. There are also several points of the story where predictions could be made.

Does the book provide an opportunity for children to ask and answer their own questions?

Yes it does provide a chance for students to ask themselves their own questions, and answer those questions. The story is about the animals on the farm getting sick so they could be asking themselves what is making the animals sick, how the sickness spreads and why, and if there was anything the animals could do to avoid being sick. The book is very unrealistic but it does provide a chance for the students to think of out of the box questions for themselves.

Does the book encourage children to think for themselves?

Along with number two, this book does allow children to think for themselves. People get sick, just like the animals do, so the students can think to themselves about the relationship that they share with these animals from the story.

Is the science topic addressed in ways that are appropriate to the lesson?

The science topic that is addressed in this book needs to be stretched quite a bit to fit with a specific science topic. It could be related to farm habitats, ecosystems or the spread of diseases, but due to the fact that the animals talk it makes it a little more complicated to fit into a direct lesson. There was not a direct science lesson that was common throughout the story.

Is the content based on sound scientific principles? Is it accurate?

The content is not based on sound scientific principles and is not accurate. Since there was not a direct lesson in the story, there was no way for it to be based off of defined scientific principles. There are assumptions throughout the story that you could use to incorporate into scientific lessons or principles but none that are outright stated.

Does the book distinguish between fact and fiction?

The book is very fictional. It is a storybook about animals that can talk, making it very fictional and not based on fact. There aren’t any facts stated in the story either. There is a strong distinction that this is a fictional story.

Are the illustrations clear and accurate?

The illustrations in this story are very accurate and detailed. I think that students would greatly enjoy looking at the pictures in this story and they are accurate with animals that are living on a farm. It is clear from looking at the pictures in this story of what it is about and the pictures display an accurate image of animals on a farm.

Is the book written at the level of your students?

The book is written at the level for my students. This book could be used as a read aloud or as independent reading for 2^nd or 3^rd It might be a little easy for 3^rd graders but it would very much be in their realm of understanding and could be used to talk about something related to science.

Is there a multicultural component? Is it free from stereotyping?

There is not a multicultural component of this story, especially since it is a story about animals. Due to that, there is no stereotyping within the book either. It is strictly about the animals.

Is the book free from gender bias?

There are no gender biases in this story. This book is completely free from any bias that could be relevant in a children’s story.

Does the book show the close association between science and other disciplines?

There is a strong connection in the book about health and in a way that could be tied into science. I do not think that science is the first discipline that is thought of when reading this book though. Since the story is about animals getting a sickness and it spreading around the farm, this could be a good book to read during flu season to talk about keeping a clean environment and community. The strongest connection to the book is more health than science related.

Does the book present a positive attitude toward science and technology?

This book doesn’t have an attitude in either direction towards technology. It does not have a negative attitude towards science either, it is more neutral than anything. The book doesn't have any negativity towards science or technology.