Baby Farm Animals

by Garth Williams

No one has drawn animals with as much warmth, humor, and realism as Garth Williams, who illustrated the beloved classics Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and the Little House on the Prairie series.

This classic Little Golden book--with piglets, kittens, calves, and bunnies, and a simple, humorous story--is one of his best. Loved for generations, this warm and fuzzy classic is sure to delight a new crop of young Little Golden Book fans.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Classics, Kids, Nonfiction, Nature

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Garth Montgomery Williams was an American artist who came to prominence in the American postwar era as an illustrator of children's books. Generations of children picture their favorite fictional characters as drawn by Garth Williams. Thus the unforgettable dapper mouse, Stuart Little, or the kindhearted spider, Charlotte and her pig friend, Wilbur. And many other animals (bears, dogs, kittens, crickets) fantastic creatures (elves, fairies) and children and grown-ups in books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, George Selden, Charlotte Zolotow, Else H. Minarik and many others. Garth Williams was also the writer of seven children's books, like Baby Farm Animals, but it is primarily as an illustrator that he will always be remembered. His most controversial book was Rabbit's Wedding, written and illustrated by him in 1958, for it stirred racial issues.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Williams' illustrations are very sweet, and he conveys a surprising amount of personality for each animal with only a few words.



Golden Books are so sturdy, too! My edition, the 12th, was printed before I was born and I'm sure I got it second hand (probably from a friend or sibling of my mother's with kids' older than myself). There are a few smudges of dirt and tiny tears, but really it is in great shape for how many grubby toddler hands it has passed through.

My niece was excited when she was the cover and said she wanted to read it.

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

The nephew picked out another golden book today. This is pretty bland. He gave it 2 stars. Each page is about a different baby animal. Not very exciting. For very young children.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't wild about the text of this book. It is inconsistent. It begins by telling us baby cats are kittens. Then it talks about rabbits, but doesn't name baby rabbits or donkeys. Then it is back to naming the babies (puppies, etc.). Eh.

The illustrations are by Garth Williams, who I believe is the first illustrator I ever took note of.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that would have driven me nuts if I had been older since it does seem to fairly jump around. Sometimes you are introduced to a nice fact about the animal and get to it then all of a sudden you find yourself getting a bit of a storyline that doesn't connect with each other. In the end it would have probably done better if it had stuck one way or another.

I love the work of Garth Williams and now that I can actually see as well as have a reason to remember the name it seems like he was almost everywhere with books. His animals are always charming and realistic while seemingly cuddly. Every once in a while he does throw in something weird for you to look like the albino bunny in this book, which brought me to wondering about that instead of a regular looking wild bunny or even a pet bunny with floppy ears.

All in all it is a great book to start children learning about their farmyard and other animals that can be related if you don't mind the outdating of the book itself.

[Deana Pittman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abbi thought this one was ok, but she said it wasn't a REAL story. Apparently the plot was lacking.

[Rayjan Koehler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally I read it with the shown title I am sure, but this time I read it with. A blue title with 2 bunnies on the cover.

Very cute, and i still can't complain about any little golden book! 📖 ❤ 📖

[Ann L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cutest children's book ever! The illustrations are beautiful and realistic looking. Kids will learn what baby animals are called. I had this book when I was a kid. I remember the pictures more than the words.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soaking up these final days? Months? Years? Of having a little one who lets me read Garth Williams with them.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly educational. Wonderful artwork.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book along with other Golden Books as options for a baby shower, and ended up keeping this one. I thought it would be informative for kids and teach them the names and general behavior of farm animals.

It started off saying a baby sheep is called a lamb, they like to run in the grass. Kittens play and are given cow’s milk, which I thought was weird because why wouldn’t they drink their mother’s milk. I think it’s going to give kids the wrong idea to think kittens drink cow’s milk instead. Baby Rabbit lives in a hutch, yet sniffs noses with kittens and puppies, “because they are all friends.” I think something more could have been said about bunnies besides smelling other animals, which I’m not certain they would actually do, like maybe them running or hopping or eating. Baby Guinea Pigs also live in a hutch, and that’s when I wasn’t sure this should be about baby animals, it should just be the animals period. No information was given at all about the guinea pigs, just “have you ever seen a guinea pig’s tail?” What about their tail, they don’t have one, it’s so small you can’t see it? What? Then: “That rabbit has been up to some mischief,” says the brown guinea pig. I wasn’t sure why suddenly the animals had monologues, because it was so not necessary for them to be speaking and it took away from their behavior. It didn’t add anything to the story or give any insight at all into the animal.

Baby Donkey loves carrots, he’s sitting because he’s tired. Someone tries to make him follow by dangling carrots on a stick. There’s no more information to be given about donkeys? You couldn’t think of anything better to say about donkeys than this? Then continues the moronic speaking: “I know that trick,” he says. Baby Ducks have webbed feet and swim, they invite the chicks to swim. The chicks can’t swim, they reply their mother has said they must look for worms. The story format was just gone as these animals talked. Piglets love clean straw to sleep on, as if they wouldn’t sleep on dirty straw, and they dig with their snouts. Puppies growl and bark at strangers, not sure they do that because puppies are pretty friendly, and they pretend shoes are cats, growling and barking at them. I’ve never seen a puppy growl and bark at shoes, and unless they tell me they pretend shoes are cats I’m going to assume they don’t in fact think that, that they’re playing with it as a toy….Seriously, it’s so misleading to tell children that if a dog is playing with a shoe he really thinks it’s a cat! No, it doesn’t!

The baby goats, kids, was one of the best. They butt heads and try to knock each other down, and the males have horns and beards. And the baby swans, cygnets, however you say that, have gray downy feathers but when they grow they’ll have white feathers and long necks. It would have been nice had they included pictures of the adult animals too, to see what the babies grew into. Goslings, a baby goose, will be big and gray and when their heads are underwater they’re looking for food. Foals walk the same day they’re born, they’re able to gallop a couple weeks later, and at 2 they’ll be able to carry a rider. All good information and the book was much more enjoyable with those cringe-worthy lines. Shetland ponies are small and won’t grow much. “Baby Cow is called a calf. She says, “Moooo!” It is time for lunch.” I guess that’s call calves have going for them, lunchtime! The author could have said they drink their mother’s milk and then graduate to grass after a certain time.

All in all it gives the basics of these animals. I think the book would have been better had it been baby animals along with the adult. I wasn’t crazy about the artwork, the images were a little too expressive. Most of their eyes were way too big and they looked like doe-eyes, a little silly. The conversations should have been cut from the book and more details given.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

My mom was looking for Golden Books to bring to a baby shower, and she decided on another book in the end, so we just had this lying around. I thought I might as well read it.
I didn’t know this would be a book telling us what baby animals are called.
The illustration of the lamb on the first page is creepy.
The flower& the butterfly are pretty on the next page.
I wish they had chosen a brown rabbit instead of the white ones with red eyes. I’m not a fan of those. The one in here looks a little evil.
The brown guinea pig is cute!
‘Have you ever seen a guinea pig’s tail?’ That’s an odd question.
“That rabbit has been up to some mischief,” says the brown guinea pig.’ That was odd, too. & came out of nowhere. I didn’t know they’d be having dialogue in here. What is the rabbit doing to make them think he’s getting into mischief?
Ok, this book has just taken a weird turn. ‘Somebody is trying to make him stand up &follow those carrots tied on the end of a stick. “I know that trick,” he says.’ The donkey looks a lil weird too. who tied the carrots to a tree to get the donkey to walk around? &he's familiar with the trick, so does this happen on a regular basis?
-'“why don’t you come for a swim?” they ask the chicks.’ Are the ducks trying to kill the chicks? Someone’s playing tricks on the donkey, so this book is already in a weird place.
-“if you pick him up or chase him, he will squeal for his mother: Help, help, help!” they do scream, but they aren’t actually saying help. I wouldn't write this &make kids thing pigs are crying "help!"
-‘they pretend that the shoe is a big cat. They growl &bark at it, too.’ Stop putting in false information! just write their behaviors, not false things that you just made up. they’re not pretending the shoe is a cat, they’re simply playing with it. puppies play &bite lots of things when they're teething.
-the pigs&that black puppy are so cute!
-‘perhaps she will even win a race.’ Cool connection to race horses there. &very optimistic.
the horse is a lil odd-looking in the face.
I don’t think you’d hook a baby Shetland pony to a cart &have it pull things around. Seems like you’d wait until they’re grown.
‘She says, “Moooo! It is time for lunch”’ is a weird way to end the book off. The calf is odd-looking, too. & I wish the book had wrapped things up in the end, instead of just ending off on another baby animal. They could have ended with a note about the farm, and a general comment about all the animals on the farm. also, I feel like they missed some animals. &guinea pigs aren't farm animals. or geese. or swans. &not many people have shetland ponies.
I haven't been impressed with the last few golden books I've read. Even though they're for little kids, I think the writing could be much better. There's way too few words on a page, &it's lacking in detail. They could have said more about each animal. They should have went into their general behaviors, &any characteristics they have. instead of asking if we've seen guinea pig tails, and that mean-spirited follow the carrot trick with the donkey.
I also found it odd how they chose to highlight baby animals that didn't have a special name when they're babies. There were a few baby animals that didn't have special names, &then it went right back to animals that did. They should have stuck with the theme of choosing animals with a certain name when they're young.

[Heather R · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was young, people would say they read Playboy magazine “for the articles;” I feel justified saying I look at Little Golden Books for the illustrations, especially when the illustrator is one of my all-time favorites, Garth Williams. You may recognize his name from your own battered copy of Charlotte’s Web, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, or Stuart Little. Thus, it was a delight for me to see that someone donated “Baby Farm Animals” to my Little Free Library today. The cover doesn’t say the illustrator‘s name, but I was immediately taken by the expressive, adorable animals and thought, “looks like Garth Williams.” So charmed was I that I brought the book inside, sat, and gazed at the faces of the animals.

Strangely enough, I’m currently reading “One For the Blackbird, One For the Crow,” which takes place on a pioneer-era farm on the prairies of Wyoming, and features many stories involving animals, including baby animals. Thus, this adorable book gives the perfect mental image to accompany a novel about farm life. As far as plot, etc- well, “Baby Farm Animals” does not even attempt one. This book is a collection of beautiful renditions is emotionally expressive baby animals, with captions explaining what kind of baby animal each is. I would think practically any young child with a fondness for animals would enjoy this.

[Antoinette Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

This classic book has been embraced by generations of children and young readers alike. Baby Farm Animals is a great book for introducing the names and words associated with animals for young children. The realistic illustrations bring wonderment and imagination for young readers as they turn each page to find a new animal. Garth Williams's Baby Farm Animals is an excellent choice for reading at home to very young children. The board book edition makes it easy for young readers to interact with the pages and also protects the book's structural integrity. The bright pastel colors remind the reader of springtime, with all of the animals emerging from a wintry hibernation. As an instructional piece, Baby Farm Animals would be a great book to recommend to a young animal enthusiast in the classroom. Students not only learn the animal names but it can be used as a great introduction into a section on animals or even the seasons.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 3 out of 5]

My love of reading started when i was young, and it gives me immense pleasure to provide books to Spread the Word Nevada, an organization that passes them on to children in the community. They are a terrific organization supporting an important cause. If your local I encourage you to check them out. For those living further a field, look in your own community, their may already be a similar program in place. And if not, you can always help start one.

http://spreadthewordnevada.org/

Myself, I go out on the weekends and
shop thrift store and bulk book lots to rescue books and donate them. Sometimes I'll find a book I remember reading when I was young and will read it again before passing it on.

I don't rate these books using my normal scale, instead I give most of them three stars. This isn't a Criticism of the book, simply my way of rating them as good for children.

[Jennifer Bollinger]

Rate: 3

Review: the book baby animals is a book that is suitable for young children. This book teaches the children how baby animals survive in the wild by themselves. This book also tells how animals survive on their own, how they get food, and survive with other animals. The illustrations in this book help get the children focused in on the book because they are just great illustrations that represent the animals.


content Statements:
1. Animals eat grass.
2. Where farm animals live.
3. There are many different animals.


How would you use this in the classroom:

The teacher would explain to the children what different animals there are in the wild how they survive, and where they live.

[Elizabeth K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the classic illustrations in this book (we have the board book version), I remember them from when I was a kid. Lu at 10 months likes the pictures of the animals, although she isn't particularly engaged in listening to me read about them.

It does make me ponder the fascination we, as a culture, have with farm animals and babies. It's an idea of farms that is from the 1940s at best -- a modern working farm isn't going to be anything like this. But there are still so many farm-themed baby toys and decorations! I guess agri-business themed stuff wouldn't be quite so endearing.

Please note I am not complaining about cute baby animals, though!

[heltones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very mindnumbing read, even for a child's book. However, my kid loves it (at 14 months). He'll dig through a pile of books to grab it and open it to the page with the donkey and carrot and point to the donkey over and over and over. He loves the picture and probably what the words 'donkey' and 'carrot' sound like. The illustrations are nice, and I've found the book is much more palatable to me if I make up a song for each page and sing that to my son instead of the text that came with the book (sorry, Mr. Williams).

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: "Generations of children have loved the realistic yet whimsical lambs, ponies, and kittens in the Little Golden Books edition of Baby Farm Animals. This Golden classic, celebrating springtime on the farm, is now a board book . . . a perfect first book for baby."

My Review: Another great classic! I love the illustrations. It will be great to teach Munchkin about farm animals, especially since we live in a more urban area and he won't have access to the things I did while growing up.

[Dominick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much exactly as advertised: each page features a baby animal, or in some instances, several baby animals (e.g. a litter of kittens), that one might find on a farm (okay, the guinea pigs may be a bit of a stretch). No narrative, just images and a few simple statements about each animal in very basic prose. It's a book designed for very young readers, written and illustrated by the inimitable Garth Williams--just the image on th ecover was enough to make it clear he was the artist, never mind the title page listing him as author. Williams is one of the greats.

[Brittany Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about many different animals. It tells what the baby of that animal is called, for example a baby cow is called a calf. It tells about what the animals do, what they eat and where they live. This is a great way for children to learn about animals. There any many activities that could be done after this book. You could have the children make a scene and place what animals would be seen there. This book would be great in the classroom when learning about animals.

[Laura Metts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can be used to teach names and sounds of farm animals. This book has great illustrations. This book is easy for children to read and understand. Great way to introduce young children to farm animals.











1. Baby sheep are called a lamb.
2.Baby cats are call kittens.
3. Baby ducks are call ducklings.

I would place this book in my science area and in dramatic play area.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actaully don't remember reading this one, but I know I have at least once in a fog of putting the boys to bed. Joey likes it pretty well. He likes the idea of baby animals and the fact that it is his very own Little Golden book. But it has no plot (not that a two-year-old requires a plot) and cannot compare to the magic of Sailor Dog or the appeal of Curious George.

[Finley Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book filled with delightful illustrations of baby farm animals explaining their names and activities. I found it to be an enjoyable read for a child and a quick educational lesson as well. Adapted from a larger version of the book, I still enjoyed it and felt it was of quality, not rushed and short-changed as some adaptations are. Recommended for young children.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introduces the baby animals on the farm and gives little facts about each one.

Cataloged a new edition of this today for elementary library and realized this was a childhood staple at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I'd forgotten about it till I saw the cover and flipped through the pages. I remember loving the kittens and puppy pages as a child and always thought the little goats looked so silly.

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations.
Learn the names and habits of baby animals.
Includes a lamb, kittens, a baby donkey, ducklings, chicks, piglets, puppies, goat kids, cygnets (swans if you didnt know), goslings, a foal, a baby shetland pony, and a calf.

[laurenpie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful and sweet nursery book with adorable illustrations

Do I love this Little Golden Book to this extent due to some shallow-buried toddler-memory of my own? Maybe, but it sure is sweet!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Sara reads books to Hazel, she likes to just say her stream of consciousness instead of the words on the pages. No need with this book -- the author seems to have dictated his stream of consciousness already.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Williams's Baby Farm Animals is an delightful choice. Children seem drawn to the pastoral illustrations in the board book. I appreciate that it allows the reader to teach young children about the habits of animals and their survival

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book that introduces the babies of various farm animals. The narrative is short and the illustrations have an old fashioned charm. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Rosanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps too many words per page for the attention span of a 23 monther, but I am sure we'll be reading this many times. It's a great way to explain baby animals and the sounds some of them make.