15 Best Children’s Dairy Animal Books
Since June is National Dairy Month so I put together a list of the best children’s dairy animal books so you can do your own dairy unit study with your children! These books cover cow and goat dairy production through facts, full color photos, and silly stories of children on the farm.
If you are interested in seeing some goat kids just after kidding, then you can watch this video of our Nubian, Freda, and her brand new triplets!
You can also make some yummy dairy based desserts (like Southern Sugar Cream Pie and Salted Milk and Honey Ice Cream) with your kiddos to eat as you read through these books!
15 Best Children’s Dairy Animal Books-Homeschool Dairy Unit Study
Children’s Dairy Animal Books: Cows
1. Kiss the Cow!
This book tells the tale of a stubborn girl and her stubborn cow named Luella. Luella demands a kiss on the nose before she will continue milking. Will the little girl give her the kiss or will her family have to do without Luella’s milk?
2. Clarabelle: Making Milk and So Much More
This book shows a day in the life of Clarabelle the Cow. She lives on a Wisconsin dairy farm with about 1200 other dairy cows! Through this book, your kids will learn what it takes for a cow to produce quality milk plus they will find out how her waste products are put to use around the farm.
3. Milk: From Cow to Carton
Milk: From Cow to Carton is a fun and engaging book that walks kids through a guided tour of the dairy production process starting with the cows grazing in the field all the way to the different products that are made from milk.
4. The Milk Makers
The Milk Makers by Gail Gibbons is a highly reviewed book that explains each step in the dairy production process. It is said to be suitable and intriguing for children as well as adults.
5. Cows in the Parlor: A Visit to the Dairy Farm
Cows in the Parlor: A Visit to the Dairy Farm is a book written by Cynthia McFarland that walks you through a day in the life of Maggie, a Jersey cow who lives on Charlie Riddle’s dairy farm. Each page in this book contains three to five short sentences so it works the best for grades 1-3 or as a read aloud for younger children.
6. Jose’s Farm Adventure
Jose’s Farm Adventure is such a fun dairy animal book! It will take you on a ride with Jose and his Papa to meet all of the animals on the family dairy farm. You will meet the kittens, chickens, calves, and Charlie, the farm dog, who understands English and Spanish…how cool?!
This book was written by a dairy farm mama from Minnesota, Karen Kasper. You can visit her farm Facebook Page for photos, videos, and updates from their dairy farm!
7. Calf (See How They Grow)
Your kiddos can learn how a dairy calf (specifically a Jersey) grows as they follow the calf’s growth from birth all the way through to adulthood with the full-color photos in this See How They Grow book.
8. Fudge the Jersey Cow
This book is filled with beautiful full color illustrations of Fudge the Jersey Cow, her calf named Toffee, and the kids who are helping to care for them. Your kids will be able to get an inside glimpse into the life of a dairy cow from birth to milking and more!
9. That’s Not My Cow
This is my kiddos’ favorite dairy animal book! Each page has a textured touchy-feely section that engages multiple senses and teaches children the correct words for different textures all while trying to find out which cow belongs to the reader.
10. From Cow to Ice Cream (Changes)
Learn how farmers produce the dairy that makes up your ice cream from the farm all the way through the ice cream machine with this book!
11. Out and About at the Dairy Farm (Field Trips)
Take a trip to a dairy farm with this colorful book! Out and About at the Dairy Farm introduces calves, heifers and milkers as well as the equipment and tools used to bring milk from the farm to your table.
Children’s Dairy Animal Books: Goats
12. That’s Not My Goat
These touchy-feely books are so much fun! That’s Not My Goat is just like the That’s Not My Cow books, but it is focused on finding the right goat through textures and touch.
13. My First Book about Goats – Amazing Animal Books – Children’s Picture Books
My First Book about Goats teaches children about different goat breeds, what they eat, and more. It isn’t specifically about dairy production (it has honestly been difficult to find children’s books specifically about dairy goats), but it lays a good foundation for kids who don’t know much about goats to begin with.
14. Goats: Children’s Book of Amazing Photos and Fun Facts about Goats
Again, this book is not specifically about dairy goats, but it gives good basic goat information. If you are looking for full color photos, fun facts, and interesting information about goats (dairy and meat breeds alike), then this is the book for you!
15. G is for Goat
G is for Goat is a great book for younger children who are working to learn their ABCs. This book teaches the alphabet while showcasing the silly antics of goats. The front cover features my favorite dairy breed, the Nubian.
I hope you have fun integrating these books into your homeschool dairy unit study! You can also check out my Dairy Unit Study post (will be published next week) for more fun dairy-themed recipes, activities, videos, and other ideas to use with you kiddos!
These books look so promising! Thanks for sharing them 🙂 I’d like to purchase maybe some of them so I could give them to a friend of mine who just started homeschooling her son. Anyways, cheers!