Skip to content

Where's My Cow?

Where's My Cow?

Picture bookChildren's BooksFantasy
Pages
32
Published
2005
Language
English

Synopsis

The book-within-a-book that Sam Vimes reads to his son Young Sam every night at six o'clock, adapted into an actual picture book. A cow moos. A dog barks. A sheep baas. None of these are the cow. The original story-within-a-story appears in the Discworld novel Thud!, where Vimes reads it to Young Sam no matter where he is or what is happening — a moment of parental devotion that became one of the series' most beloved running details.

Prose complexity
2/10

Vibe

FunnyHeartwarmingLightheartedCozy
Found Family

Genres

Children's Books Fantasy

About the author

T
Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) was an English author best known for the Discworld series, a sequence of forty-one comic fantasy novels set on a flat world carried through space on the backs of four elephants standing on a giant turtle. Across four decades, the Discworld grew from a parody of sword-and-sorcery fantasy into one of the most sustained works of social satire in English literature, examining politics, religion, science, gender, race, capitalism, and the nature of stories themselves. Pra...

Characters

Sam VimesSupporting
Young Sam VimesSupporting
Cut Me Own Throat DibblerSupporting
Foul Ole RonSupporting
Havelock VetinariSupporting
All characters in Where's My Cow?

Frequently asked questions

  • What is Where's My Cow?

    Where's My Cow? is the real-world adaptation of the fictional picture book that Sam Vimes reads to his infant son Young Sam in the Discworld novel Thud! (2005). The actual book was published by Doubleday in 2005 with illustrations by Melvyn Grant.

  • Do I need to have read Thud! to appreciate Where's My Cow?

    No — it works as a standalone picture book for small children. Reading Thud! first reveals the emotional context (Vimes's nightly commitment to reading to his son regardless of circumstances), which makes the book considerably more affecting for adult readers.

  • Who illustrated the book?

    The illustrations were created by Melvyn Grant, who also illustrated several Discworld books and calendars.

  • Who is Young Sam Vimes?

    Young Sam is the infant son of Sam Vimes and Lady Sybil, born in Thud! (2005). In the novel, Vimes's unwavering commitment to reading to him at six o'clock every evening, whatever is happening, becomes a defining character moment.