June Dairy Month feels like the holiday season in our industry – you spend months planning events and in-person gatherings, and are coming up with creative ideas for gifts and giveaways to celebrate the people and industry you love so much.

Shaw rebecca
Brand Manager / Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative
Rebecca Shaw is also the vice president of the Dairy Girl Network Board of Directors. She was for...

But do you ever feel like you’re running out of those creative ideas? Not sure what to gift anymore? Are you doing the same things over and over again every year?

Well, the truth is, I felt the same this year. Especially because my career has shifted to a global role focused on more than just dairy animals. I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to contribute as I have previously. However, I’ve remained active in the industry through organizations like Young Dairy Leaders Institute (YDLI) and Dairy Girl Network (DGN). And thank goodness I have – because these two groups have influenced a fun initiative I’m inviting you to do with me this year.

I was recently on a YDLI mentorship call with a friend and current class member Caitlyn Gibbel, territory manager at Pioneer Seeds, fifth-generation farmer and co-owner of Fantasyland Farms LLC in Pennsylvania. She suggested that we build a comprehensive list of children’s books focused on dairy farming and general agriculture, and I knew the perfect place to start. DGN has a strong virtual community, and I asked their private networking group of 5,000-plus dairy women to share their recommendations. This group did not disappoint with their participation, and now we have a starter list of over 30 books (List below).

Now that we have this great list of books built together by our dairy community, I challenge all of us to donate at least one of them to a public library during June Dairy Month.

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While this is an extensive list, I know there is a lot more out there. I’d encourage you to ask your own networks, in person and online, to share their favorite books. You can continue bringing these new book ideas to your local libraries and donate them, as you’re able. If you’re really feeling festive, offer to do a book reading and bring in chocolate milk and/or other dairy snacks for the kids who attend. Read on!

Title

The Cow in Patrick O’Shanahan’s Kitchen 
Author: Diana Prichard

The fabulous, fantastic field trip to the dairy farm 
Author: Karla Deaver

Tales of the Dairy Godmother: Chuck’s Ice Cream Wish 
Author:  Viola Butler

Mini Milkmaids on the Mooove 
Author: Rianna and Sheridan Chaney

Right This Very Minute: A Table-to-Farm Book About Food and Farming 
Author: Lisl H. Detlefsen

C is for Care: An A to Z book on caring for cattle 
Author: Amanda Radke, in partnership with Zoetis

Raising Cows on the Koebels’ Farm 
Author: Alice K Flanagan

Clarice The Red Cow 
Author: Maureen Lemos

Huck’s Way Home 
Author: Kristina Rodanas

Barnyard Dance! 
Author: Sandra Boynton

Duke the Dairy Dog: Adventures on the Farm 
Author: Kara Susan DeGroot

Down Dairy Farm Road 
Author: C.L.G. Martin

A Very Moo-ey Christmas 
Author: Mark Bradley

The Confused Cow
Author: Jessica Peters

Everything On The Farm Poops 
Author: Kelly Lee

Farming
Author: Gail Gibbons

Night Night Farm
Author: Rodger Priddy

On The Farm
Author: Little Hippo Books

The Little Regenerative Farmer
Author: Lauren Lovejoy

Kow and Bunga’s Big Day at School - World Animal Story 
Author: Olivia Blue

Out and About at the Dairy Farm 
Author: Andy Murphy

Curious About Ice Cream (Smithsonian)
Author: Bonnie Bader

Milk to Ice Cream (Rookie Read-About Science: How Things Are Made) 
Author: Lisa M. Herrington

Modern Farms
Author: Jackie Nix

Growing Up On A Farm: Agriculture, Farming And Ranching Books For Children: How To Teach Agriculture 
Author: Corey Caulkins

Winter on the Farm (Little House Picture Book)
Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder

Barn At Night 
Author: Michelle Houts

It’s Milking Time
Author: Phyllis Alsdurf

How Did That Get in My Lunchbox?: The Story of Food
Author: Chris Butterworth

Going to Papa and Nana’s Farm 
Author: Louise Malecha

From the Farm to the Table Dairy
Author: Kathy Coatney

The Great Irish Farm Book
Author: Darragh McCullough