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Deputy Harvey and the Ant Cow Caper
Brad Sneed
Picture Book
Ages 5 to 7
Penguin, 2005, 0-8037-3023-3
All is not well in Ant Hill, a town of some thirty thousand ants that is located under a cottonwood tree out west. Deputy Harvey has discovered that a large number of ant cows have been stolen from the Milking Barn. The cows produce honeydew, a substance which the ants in Ant Hill cannot manage without. As shelves become bare, the ants call a town hall meeting to discuss the problem. They are pretty sure that ladybugs are behind the disappearance of the cows and if the bugs are still around, the rest of the herd could also be in danger.
Atley Diamond from the Diamond A Ranch offers to sell the townsfolk some honeydew until the “rustlers” can be found, but the townsfolk soon discover the Atley Diamond’s honeydew is very expensive. They won’t be able to afford it for long. In the meantime more cows are stolen by the Polka-Dot Bandits.
Ant Hill’s sheriff goes off to see what he can do to catch the rustlers, and while he waits for his boss to come back Deputy Harvey comes up with a plan. He is going to do something to stop the rustlers himself.
Children will love this western-style tale with its cowboy lingo and its six legged heroes and villains. The story is entertaining – and funny – and it is not as outlandish as it seems either. In an author’s note at the back of the book the author explains that ants really do keep “cows” which they “milk” for honeydew. The cows are actually aphids which the ants protect from predators such as ladybugs.
This clever combination of a lot of fiction and a little fact is sure to delight children who have a fondness for ants and other insects. In the warm and personable artwork the author gives his ants delightful personalities which make the ants more accessible to human readers.
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