Farmer Will

by Jane Cowen-Fletcher

A sweetly rendered story about a young child who imagines his toys coming to life. Will loves his farm animal toys: a horse, a cow, a sheep and a pig. He calls his horse Orsey, his cow Dow, his sheep Bah, and his pig Wink-Wink. His family calls him Farmer Will. And when Farmer Will rounds his animals up in his hat and takes them outside, something amazing happens: the animals become real. Together, Farmer Will and his animals play lots of games until, when they are very, very tired, Will picks them up and tucks them up in bed with him, "the happiest little farmer in the whole wide world." * Sparely, eloquently told and illustrated in the gentle colours of a country springtime. * Sure to be instantly popular with young children who are devoted to their toys, and live and play in the world of the imagination. * By the author/illustrator of the international bestseller Baby Angels.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

About the author

The creator of the best-selling BABY ANGELS and, more recently, the illustrator of I LOVE YOU BABY, FROM HEAD TO TOE!, Jane Cowen-Fletcher lives with her husband in South Berwick, Maine.

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my son's favorite book as a small child. It is well written and the illustrations are so charming. It's about Will's set of farm animals who come to life and turn into lifesize playmates.

[Diana C. Kobylak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story about Farmer Will who spends his day with a horse, a cow, a sheep, and a pig. He feeds and waters them, along with upkeep. Then he plays with them. At night, after a long day, the animals sleep with him in his pocket.

[Tayler K]

Those little farm animals on the cover are too cute.

[Janelle Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute little book that my 2 yr old son connected with since he loves his toy farm animals too. The pictures are adorable!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This adorable story is about a little boy named Will, who is a good little farmer, as he plays with his toy horse, cow, sheep and pig. He is not just an ordinary farmer though because when Will takes is toy animals out side they all "Stretch out" to real animal size. Then Will feeds and waters them and then they play hide and seek and ring around the rosy. In the end Will goes in to take a nap and they all go with him, back in their toy animal size.
This is a fun story because it shows the imaginative play that kids this age have. The graphics, which are done in pastels and colored pencils, are soft which add to imaginative state that Will is in. The pictures also add to the story because some may not understand what happens when his animals "stretch out" with out seeing what the author meant.
I would recommend this book to preschoolers through 2nd grade. The large pictures, which cover a full page spread, are large enough to use in a read-aloud group. Some pages can be a little interactive, such as when they are playing hide and seek. Students would like to try to find the animals.
In the classroom, it would be fun to have young students pick which toy they would like to make life-size and determine some of the games they would play with their toys. I would have the students write their stories and also illustrate them.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable picture book about a young boy's wild imagination. Young Will (Age about 3 or 4) plays with his miniature toy farm animals that he keeps in a straw farm hat. The animals suddenly come to life and Will frolics around with them, imitating their respectable mating calls. In the end, the animals return to miniature toy form and Will settles to bedtime with the toys in plain sight. Appropriate for beginning readers ages 2-5, but even younger audiences can interact with the soft and brilliant illustrations.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet story about a toddler boy who loves his toy farm animals. When he takes them outside, they “stretch” to real life to play with him. Elliot has his own collection of farm animal figurines, so we grab the ones mentioned in the story (horse, pig, cow, sheep) and match them up on each page.

* library book
* age introduced: 1.5 years old. Still loved it at 2.5

[Analee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books!! We would read this over and over again! I love that he takes the animals outside so they can stretch. Very cute!

[Jacqueline]

Beautiful book!

[Thia]

farm animals, games

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book for small children who love farm animals and have big imaginations.