# 13 THE COW WHO WOULDNT COME DOWN
| Author : | Paul Brett Johnson MOUSIE, KY |
| Artist : | Marilyn Rose Swan LEXINGTON, KY |
| Sponsor : | Sorella Gelateria and Sweet Lilu’s Catering |
Paul Brett Johnson (1941-2011): The Cow Who Wouldnt Come Down
Painter, illustrator, and author Paul Brett Johnson was born at Mousie, Ky., in Knott County and was the author of over twenty illustrated children’s books, including On Top of Spaghetti, The Pig Who Ran a Red Light, and The Goose Who Went off in a Huff. One of his best-known books is the 1993 The Cow Who Wouldn’t Come Down. It features Miss Rosemary, an experienced farmer, who finds herself coping with the overly rambunctious cow, Gertrude, who has taken up flying as a hobby. Rosemary has the problem of how to milk a flying cow. She makes several disastrous attempts to bring Gertrude down before giving up and buying a substitute cow. Johnson illustrated this book with full-color acrylic paintings. In addition to illustrating his books, Johnson was an accomplished landscape painter.
Marilyn Rose Swan:
BOOKBENCHESLEX.ORG
I wanted to enliven a Lexington neighborhood with Paul Brett Johnson’s free spirit, the rolling hills of his native Knott County and indomitable characters such as Gertrude, a cow with a mind of her own. The Cow Who Wouldnt Come Down was Johnson’s first published book. He was a painter first, but as he began creating children’s books, he said that it gave him “the freedom to be totally and outlandishly imaginative.” Marilyn Rose Swan lives in Lexington, Ky, where she plays in paint, fiber, clay, stones and plants.