Cow and Sow – written by Matthew Farina, illustrated by Doug Salati
Tundra Books, 2026
Cow and Sow are friends. Like Frog and Toad, George and Martha, Kat and Mouse, and Goat and Bunny, their compatibility is partly based on tolerance of difference, but also on abiding affection. Matthew Farina’s text tells just enough of the story, allowing readers to expand on the essentials. His language also evokes classics of children’s literature, including the work of A.A. Milne (“ ‘Chin up! Take small, steady strokes to begin,” Cow added. Everyone headed out cautiously onto the ice.”). Doug Salati’s pencil, gouache, and digital illustrations are a marvel of color and form.
This is a winter farm book. Instead of busy activity planting or harvesting, there is a barn flanked by bare trees, with snow covering the roof. Cow and Sow have some time on their hands, or hooves, and are playing parcheesi. They seem, bored, frustrated, even possibly a bit depressed. “For Cow and Sow, the long winter seemed never-ending. They’d already lost interest in all the usual things friends do in the cold.” But they have each other, and share a positive attitude when confronted with the blues. On a trip outdoors, the trip on the ice, and soon they have invented ice skating for animals without skates. Dogs, raccoons, foxes, and moose may at first be skeptical, but they join in. Large mammals performing with balletic beauty also evoke the hippos in Disney’s Fantasia.
When something new is invented, you can reliably assume an argument about who devised it first. Cow insists that she came up with the one skillful move, “my special jump…the Wow-Cow.” But Sow’s demonstration of the step called evokes support from some of the other animals, who all insist that she had been the original choreographer. Squirrel wisely concludes that it doesn’t matter; “jumps should belong to anyone!” Salati depicts the argument, from Cow’s furious face, to Sow, front legs folded to the side to emphasize her conviction, with other animals in the background fomenting tension.
Then an emergency happens, and all redeem themselves through courage and cooperation. After a successful rescue operation and a comforting campfire, Cow and Sow, followed by their shadows, return together to the barn. This is the continuation of a beautiful friendship.