Children's Books discussion

In May, the Picture Book Club will explore books about Farmers and Farming.

This list has become our Master List and General Discussion for books fitting this theme but not selected as our official six titles for the May 2015 discussion.

Little Farm by the Sea

Farm (by Elisha Cooper)

My Farm

The Year At Maple Hill Farm

Our Farm: By the Animals of Farm Sanctuary

Tractor Day

Big Red Barn

Food from Farms

E-I-E-I-O by Judy Sierra

Farming (Ann Love)

Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table

To Market, to Market (Nikki McLure)

Full Moon Rising

Winterberries and Apple Blossoms: Reflections and Flavors of a Mennonite Year

Country Road ABC: An Illustrated Journey Through America's Farmland

Migrant

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet In Spanish And English

PB&J Hooray!: Your Sandwich's Amazing Journey from Farm to Table

Apple Farmer Annie

My Farm by Alison Lester

Kathryn wrote: "... Apologies for not posting a poll for May. It has been a difficult month for us and I failed to get to that in time. I have chosen the runner-up from our last poll and feel sure we will have some excellent books and a wonderful discussion ..."

I think this is a great theme! Although most of the books I can think of might be for the youngest crowd.

I second the idea of Maple Hill Farm, I've been meaning to check out those books for a while. I also suggest:

Ox-Cart Man

Winter on the Farm (and maybe other titles from the First Little House picture book series as well.

Big Red Barn my Margaret Wise Brown.

Hurry Hurry Mary Dear (poor Mary does all the farm work until finally she's had it ... )

Old Mikamba Had a Farm (well, not exactly your typical farm ... )

Potatoes on Rooftops: Farming in the City (interesting to me, but 80 pages long).

This Is the Farmer Nancy Tafuri.

The Little Farm by Lois Lenski.

Farming by Gail Gibbons.

It's a bit curious that I can't think of more books. Maybe it goes to show how removed kids have become from the notion of farming, even though farms put the food on our table.

Pelle's New Suit

If You're Not from the Prairie...

A Prairie Boy's Summer

A Prairie Boy's Winter

Florina and the Wild Bird

Florian and Tractor Max

The Snowstorm

Kathryn wrote: "In May, the Picture Book Club will explore books about Farmers and Farming. Please nominate picture books fitting this theme by posting in a comment below.

Nominations will be accepted until Apri..."

I hope that the difficulties you've experienced this month have been surmounted and surmounted successfully and helpfully.

The Farmer and the Clown
The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden StirredDown on the Farm
Farm
Farm Life
Farmer Duck
Farmer Will
Farmyard Beat
Go to Sleep, Little Farm
Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm
I Spy on the Farm--. Edward Gibbs
The Midnight Farm
On the Farm
Punk Farm

Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm
Grumpy Goat
Serious Farm
Doug Unplugs on the Farm
Dinosaur Farm
Duck On A Bike (not so much about farming, but on a farm, and it's really funny).
When The Leaf Blew In
Spot Goes to the Farm
There's a Barnyard in My Bedroom

On my tablet, so I can't link but our favorite is "Dooby Dooby Moo" by Cronin. It's a sequel to Click Clack Moo and all of my nieces and nephews think it's hilarious!

Here are a few:

The Thing That Bothered Farmer Brown
EIEIO: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm with a Little Help From a Hen
Meet the Dogs of Bedlam Farm
Old Makana Had a Taro Farm (Hawaiian take on the classic tale)
Farmyard Cat
Funny Farm

Beth Sniffs Books wrote: "NSince you mentioned you've been having a difficult time (hope things are better) maybe give www.pollcode.com a try for the May voting"

Thank you so much, Beth. I'm so sleep deprived that I think I had better not attempt anything new and stick to my familiar methods ;-) but I will keep it in mind for the future.

Gundula wrote: "I hope that the difficulties you've experienced this month have been surmounted and surmounted successfully and helpfully. "

Thanks so much, Gundula. It's mostly been allergy issues and teething for my son. Nothing serious, thank goodness, but the resulting sleep deprivation does make it hard to manage sometimes. Hoping both will be over soon.

Thank you all for the nominations and for being good sports about the chosen theme.

It's now time to VOTE for the five books you would most like to read in May. Please choose five books from our official nominations (messages 2-13) and post in a comment below. Nominations will be accepted until April 24th.

Little Farm by the Sea
E-I-E-I-O! How Old MacDonald Got His Farm with a Little Help From a Hen
Hurry Hurry Mary Dear
Dinosaur Farm
This Is the Farmer

Full Moon Rising

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet In Spanish And English

Pelle's New Suit

Winterberries and Apple Blossoms: Reflections and Flavors of a Mennonite Year

Migrant

Kathryn wrote: "Gundula wrote: "I hope that the difficulties you've experienced this month have been surmounted and surmounted successfully and helpfully. "

Thanks so much, Gundula. It's mostly been allergy issu..."

I hope the allergies are not something permanent (good that it is nothing serious, but if it's keeping you and him up at night, it must be tiring and trying). And teething can certainly be an issue and painful. Good luck and hugs from me for all of you!

My Farm

Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet In Spanish And EnglishGathering the Sun: An Alphabet In Spanish And English

Winterberries and Apple Blossoms: Reflections and Flavors of a Mennonite Year

The Year At Maple Hill Farm

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet In Spanish And English
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table
Migrant
Old Mikamba Had a Farm
This Is the Farmer

I'll vote for these:


My Farm (so excited about Alison Lester ever since Are We There Yet?)

Little Farm by the Sea

Farm (looks gorgeous, but also instructive)

Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table (been in my to-read pile for so long)

The Year At Maple Hill Farm

Thanks for the votes! Here are the winners:

Little Farm by the Sea

This Is the Farmer

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet In Spanish And English

Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table

The Year At Maple Hill Farm

Sixth/Alternate:
Migrant

Looking forward to our discussion come May!

So many good choices!

I recognize many of the author names, too. These should be fairly widely available!

Another book that deserves to be mentioned here is Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez (and the only reason I did not until the official nomination period was over is because we had already discussed this book during a previous month where the theme was Latin American culture). This is not only a book about Cesar Chazez, and migrant farm workers, it also demonstrates how Chavez with courage and acts of non violent protest was able to mobilise not only migrant farm workers but also many Americans (to show that migrant farm workers deserve compassion and healthy, acceptable working conditions).

From a discussion/debate on the thread discussing the chosen books for this month, here is a further list of farm themed picture books that are (according to Raymond and Angela) more fact based and less romanticising.

Seed, Soil, Sun: Earth's Recipe for Food
Extra Cheese, Please!: Mozzarella's Journey from Cow to Pizza
Fantastic Farm Machines
Century Farm
Amazing Grazing
Horsepower: The Wonder of Draft Horses
Sheep on the Family Farm
Pigs on the Family Farm
Cows on the Family Farm
Turkeys on the Family Farm
Goats on the Family Farm

And here are two books by Astrid Lindgren that fit the theme (I did not at first think of adding them and then I decided to wait as one of the books had already been previously discussed in a separate thread)

The Tomten
The Tomten and the Fox

And these might work as well, they also feature the Tomten

Christmas at the Tomten's Farm
Visit of the Tomten

I can vouch for Farmer Will by Jane Cowen-Fletcher as being absolutely adorable, and wonderful for the littlest ones. What an imaginative, resourceful, lovable little boy!

Another wonderful little book about urban gardens is Plant a Little Seed (again, I did not originally nominate it because I think we might have discussed it during our ecology month a few years ago).

And the Jo Macdonald series should also be mentioned, Jo MacDonald Saw a Pond, Jo MacDonald Had a Garden and Jo Macdonald Hiked in the Woods

I've tried to get the Jo Macdonald books from my library system, but have been stymied.

Cheryl wrote: "I've tried to get the Jo Macdonald books from my library system, but have been stymied."

Too bad, I've only read the first one, but it's great.

I'm having a hard time finding them, too :-(

I'm curious about books that show "backyard farming" especially with children involved. For example, several of our friends have chickens and the children help to feed and care for the chickens, and some even help sell the eggs at farmers markets. Does anyone know of books that show this type of involvement with farm animals?

One of our club picks this month, Little Farm by the Sea shows the children of the family involved with the farm but it is a bit larger scale, full-time family farm.

Oh I hope someone comes up with suggestions.

Meanwhile, if you want to add a memoir for adults to your list, you might want to check out Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting by one of my very favorite authors, Michael Perry.

(I've not read it yet, as I'm savoring the anticipation, so can't vouch that it's a perfect fit... but I've no doubt it's a good read.)

Cheryl wrote: "Oh I hope someone comes up with suggestions.

Meanwhile, if you want to add a memoir for adults to your list, you might want to check out Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting..."

Thanks, Cheryl! :-)

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman is another book like Farmer Will Allen. To me it looks better: richer with diversity, more poetic, and possibly more feasible. I've not read it yet, but I have enjoyed other books by the author.

Hunting The White Cow is interesting. It's not really *about* farming, though it is set on a farm and has wonderful illustrations (I love Wendy Anderson Halperin, though!) It's a humorous tale about a white cow that goes missing and all the efforts to recover it.

I just skimmed Our Farm: Four Seasons with Five Kids on One Family's Farm by Michael J. Rosen.

It's nonfiction, lots of photos, told to Rosen by the members of the family (mostly the four boys). It's about a real working family farm in the 21st century, the kind of place that's almost extinct. The Bennetts raise cows, chickens, alfalfa, grapes, and they hunt and fish, and hunt mushrooms too.

I recommend it, of course, to city kids, but also especially to those few vegetarians who are so righteous that they can't respect or cope with historical or classic lit. that mentions butchering and hunting.

Tots might enjoy the pictures, but it's mostly aimed at kids probably 8-12.

Oh, and it's Michael *J* Rosen, not Michael Rosen, author of We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Michael Rosen's Sad Book, and many others.

Just bought this gorgeous and evocative 2016 picture book about putting a farm to bed, basically, preparing a farm for winter (bad me, there is a new indedependent bookstore that opened in my town and children's books, including picture book is one of its areas of expertise). Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter will definitely end up being a four or five star book once I get around to posting a review; it is lyrical, soothing and informative, perfect for bedtime or a lazy fall/winter afternoon.

I have just looked at this on your link and it looks lovely. My children are grown up and no grandchildren in sight yet - can I get away with buying this for myself? It reminds me of "Going to Sleep on the Farm" which was a great favourite of my chldren many years ago. That gentle almost soporific effect.

Rosemary wrote: "I have just looked at this on your link and it looks lovely. My children are grown up and no grandchildren in sight yet - can I get away with buying this for myself? It reminds me of "Going to Slee..."

Looks beautiful! Thank you, Gundula.

Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter

Expressive and evocative, displaying a soothing lullaby-like cadence and rhythm (and descriptive words both lyrical and poetic without rhyming), with Sleep Tight Farm, author Eugenie Doyle (who actually lives on a working farm) caressingly and lovingly presents how a family basically "puts the farm to bed" (in other words, how everyone prepares it for winter, with chores, with activities such as harvesting and storing fruits and vegetables, shaking insulting straw over berry plants, covering salad, tomato and melon plants with a hoop-house to protect them from snow and ice, insulating and fluffing up the nests in the chicken coop to make the laying hens comfortable and warm for the winter, building natural windbreaks out of hay bales for the otherwise too much exposed beehives).

I especially like how the unnamed narrator (who appears to be a child of about ten years or so) is always grateful for the bounty the family has been able to harvest, for the produce that sustains both the farm and the family (thanking both fields and animals, chickens and bees, realising that humans are not simply there to make use of the earth, that we should and must also show appreciation and recognition, and that protecting the fields from winter's chill, replenishing the soil by tilling it, ploughing and loosening it, making sure farm animals are snug and well fed during the winter, is not only important for the farm as an enterprise, but above all, shows both gratitude and understanding).

For those who are vegans or vegetarians, while the presented farm is thus definitely one that also has animals present (there is a single horse depicted, as well as the already mentioned chickens and bees, as well, of course, the obligatory barn cats and a dog), in my opinion, this is in no way a factory type farm, as the majority of the products being raised for market (and even for home consumption) seem to be plant based. Yes, a chicken coop is featured, but it is also clearly shown that there is a large yard for the chickens, that both the hens and the rooster reside together, and that there are definitely NO battery type chicken nests. And while the family did harvest both honey and wax in September, the narrator makes a point that they actually left more than enough for the bess who "made enough for us." Also, the family farmstand shows that aside from some eggs and honey, ALL other products being sold are fruit and vegetables (even the meals described by the narrator, the homegrown treats, are vegetable soup and berry pies). There are most definitely NO large scale animal operations either depicted or described in Sleep Tight Farm (no large scale dairy operation, no animals raised for their flesh, and their chickens number about twelve at the absolute most).

Becca Stadtlander's accompanying illustrations have a quaint and wonderfully realistic folk art feel to them. With a colour scheme that clearly and expressively presents the change of season from autumn to winter, they provide both a successful and enchanting compliment to Eugenie Doyle's poetic narrative (the illustrations actually often even expand on it, presenting images not found in the text, or rather merely hinted at in and by the text). Very highly recommended not only for pleasure reading, but also and perhaps even more importantly, Sleep Tight Farm is a gentle and informative introduction to farming, and specifically to what an ecological and ethically run family type farm (at least in my humble opinion) can and should be. Frankly, I think this would be a great addition to a unit on farming in a kindergarten, preschool or grade one, perhaps even up to grade two classroom!

I'll have to look for this!

Cheryl wrote: "I'll have to look for this!"

It is relatively new (published this year).

Judy Sierra's EIEIO: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm with a Little Help From a Hen is a terrific story about backyard farming. After reading this, a lot of us will want to replace our lawns with a farm, too! My review:

Interesting that the farmer works harder now than he did on his lawn, but it's worth it, feels better, because he's productive, growing produce instead of boring grass. And the neighbors realistically first protested, and then, perhaps less realistically, learned that a farm in the neighborhood is a good thing despite a little mud and a little stink.

Oh, that sounds wonderful, Cheryl! We would love to do a backyard mini-farm and this sounds fun and inspiring :-)

The Usborne publishing company has some cute stories individually or collected as Big Book of Farmyard Tales

My nephews enjoyed the vehicles that show up in the stories and younger nephew was into pigs briefly so he liked animals AND tractors in the stories I got him.

Usborne also has a few others like

Farm Animals
Push Puzzles: On the Farm
Colorful World: Farm (no link shows up)

Just wanted to say that I do highly recommend both A Prairie Boy's Summer and A Prairie Boy's Winter. Descriptive paintings and a story basically telling author and illustrator William Kurelek's own life as a farmer boy on the Canadian prairies in the 1920s and 1930s (and not just nostalgically either, as it is always shown how difficult life on a farm could be and that especially William, the author as a young boy, did not all that much enjoy farming or had that much of an aptitude for it).

The Old Truck gets 4.9 stars from me. My only complaint? Too short! Review here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Cheryl wrote: "The Old Truck gets 4.9 stars from me. My only complaint? Too short! Review here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

That's the best kind of complaint when it comes to a book ;-)

My district doesn't have a single copy :-( but it sounds so good and so important I will suggest they order it.

Sonya's Chickens

Love the combination of text and images and how Phoebe Wahl shows that foxes are predators and if they nab a chicken it is basically predator versus prey. Highly recommended!!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...