Great pictures that take you step by step from the birth of a calf to milking, manure, methane, pretty much all areas of a dairy. ( )

A good book for a book report. This book will leave no doubt about dairy products, manure and fertilizer and methane. ( )

Picture Book
Peterson, Cris; Ilus Lundquist, David R. Clarabelle: Making milk and so much more. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, Inc, 2007.
Review
In this book, Cris Peterson takes readers through the life of one cow, Clarabelle, and her calf on a large, Wisconsin dairy farm to show the newest technology available to farmers to create energy from herds. Through this experience the reader learns not only about the commonly known by-products of cows such as cheese, butter, ice cream, and yogurt, which are created from cow’s milk, but about fertilizer, electricity, and compost for animal stalls. The book demonstrates the cow as a fascinating organism that transforms common food into useful products and the fact that the cow is more amazing than even the new equipment used by farmers. Cris Peterson does an excellent job of distinguishing between fact and theory and in using inclusive language. The author also has an extensive background in the subject matter of the book. Cris Peterson was named 2004 National Dairy Woman of the Year at the World Dairy Expo in honor of her writing and leadership in agricultural business and she is also a full time dairy farmer. The format of the book is also very organized as it follows a logical sequence of ideas with the use of headings and subheadings to clarify parts of text.
Recommendation
This book is recommended for children ages 5-8 because this age group has continued interest in their own world, but is curious about a wider range of things. Children this age need a wide variety of books that vary from their everyday world and viewing a life on the farm would be an excellent way to satisfy this element. Additionally, the attention span of readers this age is increasing and they will be able to enjoy a book the length of Clarabelle (32 pages).
Use
The book talks about compost piles and how they are used with cows, so it might be fun for children to create a compost pile. The children could research how to create an effective compost pile as a class and use the compost to grow plants, etc.
Artwork
The artwork in this is comprised of vivid photographs by David Lundquist who has received both national and international recognition for his work. The photographs depict Clarabelle with other cows, her calf, and the family by whom the farm is owned. The pictures support the content of the text as well as enhance the visualization of the text. The pictures are interesting and accurate with clear captions.