Buttermilk

By: Fat Hendrick
Illustrated by: Jamil Adler
Publisher: David Van Wie
Publication Date: August 2014
ISBN: 978-0-615-15505-0
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor
Date: December 24, 2014

There are children’s books that are all about education; there are children’s books that are pure fun; and then there are children’s books that become a part of the household, where they are read over and over again because they are so funny and so cool and so unique that every child, as well as their parents, have a ball reading them. This is one of those books.

Readers will not know off the bat why Farmer Floyd’s prize cow, Jesse, suddenly seems a bit odd. By odd, I mean that Farmer Floyd is looking very forward to Jesse once again winning the prize at the county fair the very next day for her amazing milk. But in order for Jesse to ‘do her best’ she needs her sleep, yet in Farmer Floyd’s world there is only: “Noise! Noise! Noise!”

You see, a new tenant is on Farmer Floyd’s property right now; and all this tenant wants to do is pluck a guitar. The farmer is not at all happy about this because Jesse can get no rest, which means she may not produce the best milk she can. But the next morning, Jesse doesn’t even bother to give any milk; instead, she makes a wonderful butter that has the entire town going crazy. Everyone for miles around wants this “wonderful, delicious, savory…butter.” In fact, they can’t get it in their hands fast enough. Not only has Jesse produced something far more amazing than her usual awesome milk, but she keeps producing this butter over and over again. But…how exactly is she doing it?

Let us just say that there is something ‘magical’ happening on Farmer Floyd’s property; a type of magic that is wonderful to listen to; a type of magic that will go on for decades to come, turning every frown into a smile. Although parents may know from a shadowed picture what, exactly, is pleasing Jesse so much that she is producing something so wonderful, it will open the door for kids of today to learn all about a ‘presence’ that once made everyone really, really happy.

Listen to the ‘plucking’ of the strings; root for Farmer Floyd to figure it all out; and praise Jesse for all her work, as you fall in love with Buttermilk. The author has reached out to the stars to create this tale, and the illustrator has done a wonderful job showing all human emotions, as well as a very happy cow.

Quill says: A fun fantasy based in reality that you will love to read over and over and over again. Readers will say to the author: “Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Author Interview

For more information on Buttermilk, please visit the author's website at: www.fathendrickstories.com