How Can a Cow Jump Over the Moon? Online Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. One of the most beloved bedtimes stories is "Goodnight Moon", by Margaret Wise Brown. In the book, someone is reading a bedtime story that begins "Good night moon, good night room, good night cow jumping over the moon". To whom is the story being read?

Answer: A bunny

The bunny says good night to all the objects in his room. One of those objects is a picture of a cow jumping over the moon, which hangs on the wall in the bunny's room.

2. Another classic bedtime story is "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" by Virginia Lee Burton. What is the name of the steam shovel?

Answer: Mary Anne

Published in 1939, Burton tells the story of Mike Mulligan who comes to the town Popperville with Mary Anne, the steam shovel, in search of work. Mary Ann succeeds in digging out the cellar for the new town hall in just one day, and then finds a new calling as the boiler for the building.

3. What child in America doesn't know about the little engine that took all kinds of toys and good food to the little children on the other side of the mountain? What did the engine say as it chugged up the mountain?

Answer: I think I can

Watty Piper published "The Little Engine that Could" in 1930. The book tells the story of a determined little engine, who succeeded where bigger and stronger engines failed.

4. "Make Way for Ducklings" tells the story of some baby ducks who are hatched in the middle of a big American city. Which city does this book take place in?

Answer: Boston

Robert McClosky first published "Make Way for Ducklings" in 1941. Mrs. and Mrs. Mallard move their brood of ducklings through the streets of Boston with the assistance of policeman Michael and his colleagues. In 1987 the city of Boston placed a statue of the ducks in the Boston Gardens, adjoining the Commons.

5. In Don Freeman's classic teddy bear tale, "Corduroy", a little girl adopts a bear who lives in a department store and takes him home. What does Lisa do for Corduroy to make him more comfortable?

Answer: Fix the button on his overalls

Published in 1968, Don Freeman's charming book tells of of Teddy Bear who lives in the toy department of a big department store in a big city. After a night-time adventure in the store, he is returned to the toy department by the security guard. Eventually, Lisa finds him, purchases him, and takes him home.

6. Paddington Bear is named after the London underground station where he was found by the Brown family. Where did Paddington Bear actually come from?

Answer: Peru

Michael Bond wrote the first "Paddington Bear" story in 1958, and it was illustrated by Peggy Fortnum. According to Wikipedia, war-time pictures of English children waiting in London railroad stations to be evacuated gave him the inspiration for Paddington, who is found with a suitcase and a note in the Paddington underground station.

7. Many children have gone to bed after hearing about the adventures of Madeline, the feisty little girl who lives in a boarding school in Paris. In which language were the Madeline books originally written?

Answer: English

Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the "Madeline" books, was born in Austria, but immigrated to the United States and became an American citizen. A writer and an artist, he published the first "Madeline" book in 1939 in English. His inspiration for Madeline was his daughter, Barbara. (Information for this question came from Wikipedia and the official "Madeline" site.)

8. Kay Thompson wrote of the adventures of Eloise, the mischievous six-year old who lives in the glamorous Plaza hotel in New York City. Is there a portrait of Eloise on display at the hotel?

Answer: Yes

Hiliary Knight, the illustrator of the "Eloise" books, painted a portrait of Eloise for the Plaza, but it was stolen some years later, apparently by some rowdy fraternity boys. According to the "Eloise" homepage, Princess Grace of Monaco was visiting the Plaza and disappointed when she could not view the picture. Knight subsequently painted a second portrait, which is in the Palm Court of the hotel.

At one time, there was even an Eloise menu available at the Plaza!

9. Sometimes poems are better for bedtime than a story. Who wrote this poem? "I have a little shadow, That goes in and out with me. And what can be the use of him, Is more than I can see."

Answer: Robert Louis Stevenson

The verse continues:
"He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head,
And I see him jump before me when I jump into my bed."

The Scottish poet and novelist, Robert Louis Stevenson, included this poem in his 1913 collection entitled "A Child's Garden of Verses".

10. No quiz about bedtime stories would be complete without a mention of A. A. Milne. We frequently read his poems at bedtime, rather than his stories. In the poem that begins "The King asked the Queen and the Queen asked the dairymaid, Could we please have some butter for the royal slice of bread?", what did the Queen suggest the King have instead of butter?

Answer: Marmalade

This poem is included in the book "When We Were Very Young", which was first published in 1924. The poem ends like this,
"Nobody" he said,
As he slid down the banisters,
"Nobody,
My darling,
Could call me a fussy man,
BUT
I do like a little bit of butter
for my bread!"
Don't you love the image of the king sliding down the banisters?

Source: Author janetgool

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

How Can a Cow Jump Over the Moon? Quiz

How can a cow jump over the moon? Well, lots of marvelous things happened in the bedtime stories our parents read to us! Polaris101 challenged me to write this quiz!

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