What do you think?
Rate this book
The Big Red Barn
A young boy learns to cope with his sense of loss as he struggles to adjust to a new stepmother and to the destruction of the family's beloved red barn
- GenresChildrens
32 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1979
25 people want to read
About the author
Eve Bunting
311 books408 followersAlso known as Evelyn Bolton and A.E. Bunting.
Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.
Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.
In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She now lives in Pasadena, California.
Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.
Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.
In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She now lives in Pasadena, California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 8, 2016
Summary: The first person narrator of this book has been used to having the big red barn all of his life. The narrator loves the barn and its bright red wooden surface. It was the barn that the narrator used as a hiding spot when his mother died, and he also hid there a lot, when his dad brought home a new woman, who the narrator does not like. But one night the barn caught fire and burned to the ground. Now, the narrator needs to learn how to accept the new barn that has been built as a replacement, while still remembering the old barn.
The theme is that life goes on when you lose something or someone you love, but for you to also move on, you have to accept the new situation.
Personal response: I remember protesting a lot as a child, when my parents bought a new car. Like the barn in this book, my parents’ old car was connected with a lot of memories, which can be difficult to let go of as a child.
Recommendation: The Big Red Barn is a book about how to cope with loss. A barn may not seem that important, but what it represents is very important because many of the narrator’s memories were connected to barn. Furthermore, it is impossible to not see the loss of the barn as a metaphor of the narrator’s mother and how difficult it has been to get used to a new mother/barn. This book beautifully describes the difficulties of loss and acceptance.
The theme is that life goes on when you lose something or someone you love, but for you to also move on, you have to accept the new situation.
Personal response: I remember protesting a lot as a child, when my parents bought a new car. Like the barn in this book, my parents’ old car was connected with a lot of memories, which can be difficult to let go of as a child.
Recommendation: The Big Red Barn is a book about how to cope with loss. A barn may not seem that important, but what it represents is very important because many of the narrator’s memories were connected to barn. Furthermore, it is impossible to not see the loss of the barn as a metaphor of the narrator’s mother and how difficult it has been to get used to a new mother/barn. This book beautifully describes the difficulties of loss and acceptance.
March 31, 2015
For some odd reason I thought this won a Caldecott, which surprised me as the illustrations aren't actually all that amazing. Turns out I was wrong. The boy has lost his mother, has a favorite spot in the barn, then the barn burns down, and they get a new bar, which is somehow similar to the family getting a new step-mother, whom the kid doesn't like very much though she seems nice enough. Essentially, the barn is a symbol for the absent mother. All of this is fairly heavy stuff for a young kid's book, frankly, and I'm not really sure most seven year olds are going to get this. I suppose it could be useful in very specific cases, though.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews