This is an odd little book, written as a companion to Pratchett’s new
Discworld novel, Thud!. Sam Vimes, commander of the
Ankh-Morpork City Watch, has a standing engagement every evening at six
o’clock–no matter what else is going on, he hurries home to read a
bedtime story to his very small boy, Young Sam. And not just any
book, but Young Sam’s favorite book in the world,
Where’s My Cow?:

Where’s my cow?
Is that my cow?
It goes “Baaa”.
It is a sheep.
That’s not my cow!

Speaking as a father, I’ve read dozens of books just like this. But
Where’s My Cow? isn’t just another kid’s book; it’s a book
about Sam Vimes reading a book called Where’s My Cow to
Young Sam, complete with pictures of Sam Vimes making all of the assorted
noises. (My favorite is the Hippopotamus: it goes “HRUUUUUGH!”) And
partway through the book, Sam begins to ask himself…why is he reading a
book about the noises made by barnyard animals to Young Sam when Young Sam
is going to grow up in the city and will never encounter barnyard animals
except on a plate? What if Where’s My Cow were about the
noises Sam hears every day as he travels about Ankh-Morpork?

And so Sam Vimes begins to embellish the book a bit, and extemporize, and
spread himself considerably….until Lady Sybil comes in and gives him
the eye.

Speaking as a father, I’ve done this myself, hundreds of times, with one
book or another (for example…but then, perhaps we should pass lightly
over
Princess Jewelianna and the Sparkling Rainbow Ball, in which
all of the tasteless princesses dress most excruciatingly gaudy. One day
my little girl is going to learn to read, and I’m going to be in
big trouble.)

Anyway, Where’s My Cow is good fun, if a bit lightweight, and
the pictures are excellent. If you’re both a parent and a Discworld fan, you owe it
to yourself to get a copy. I gave Jane a copy as an anniversary present;
she was thrilled. No, really, she was, and she sat in my lap while I
read it to her. And then we went back to Thud!, which I
expect we’ll finish tonight.

If you’re not a Discworld fan or a parent, though, give it a miss, because
most of the book will go right over your head.