BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y. Many Briarcliff Manor residents already know cows cant jump thanks to Dave Reisman. And on Saturday, they got to hear it from Reisman himself.
The Briarcliff Manor resident and childrens author read his two books Cows Cant Quack and Cows Cant Jump Saturday morning at the Briarcliff Manor Public Library. The artist, Jason Maas, is a former Briarcliff Manor School District art teacher.
Reisman, who also works for a Manhattan law firm, said Cows Cant Jump was his first foray into writing childrens books. The self-published author said he became interested in childrens books after reading to his own kids.
I was reading that cows couldn't jump and I thought it was pretty funny, Reisman said. I have three kids and having read many childrens books to them, I immediately thought the idea could work as a childrens book too.
Both books seek to teach children about animals, but Reisman said he also wanted to touch on the importance of diversity.
Besides it being a booster for literacy, I think kids really pick up on the idea that not everyone is good at everything, Reisman said. So the book teaches that point of view that you dont have to be great at everything in order to achieve. And kids should focus on what they do best and what they enjoy and not worry about the things they cant do.
The message wasnt lost on 4-year-old Xander Bradley, of Ossining.
Cows cant quack. Thats pretty funny, Xander said. But thats OK.
While Xander had only heard the book a couple of times before, he was able to say each word aloud during the reading.
I think its really nice for the kids to be exposed to local authors that they know live in the area, Xander's mother, Naomi Bradley, said. I think its nice to know that there are people locally that they can look up to.
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