Summer Fun on the Farm (FAMILY magazine reviews)

Whether you and your child visit the farm in person or in a book, you can offer her/him the experience of farm animals this summer. Children of all ages love animals.  Many zoos include both farm animals and wild animals as part of the zoo experience.  Here are a few ideas to think about as you enjoy your summer.

·      Read aloud to your child and ask her/him to read out loud to you.  You can take turns.  Reading out loud is an unspoken invitation to your child to think about what is being read.  When you sit side-by-side and one of you moves your finger along the words, your child is able to see AND hear at the same time.  This helps with comprehension. 

·      Often, as your child thinks about the story, s/he will ask questions.  Conversations are a bonus, both to her/his reading, and to your understanding of each other.

·      Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions yourself before, during and after a book. 

Before: What are you interested in about this book?  What doesn’t interest you?

During: What’s happening in the book? Is it turning out as you thought it might?  What will happen next?

After: Can you tell me briefly about the story?  What other books does it make you remember?

·      Read and reread to build your child’s skill in reading smoothly. Rereading familiar simple books gives your child practice and confidence in reading for her/himself and with others.

·      Reading books with a theme gives your child information that can help her/him in class.  This is especially true when s/he reads more difficult books in a classroom setting.  Knowledge gained from your reading sessions together can give her/him assurance as s/he grows in reading skill.

Books at the library are free to borrow and return.  You and your child can find many different kinds of books there.  Regular library visits can increase your child’s interest in reading. Library trips also give you and your child the chance to talk about what you’ve read, practice taking good care of books, returning them promptly and choosing new ones.  Enjoy!

Feeding the Sheep by Leda Schubert 

Illustrated by Andrea U’Ren  

Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level:  Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 3 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Miami Lakes Branch, South Dade Regional.  Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

            Beginning with a snowy day, a little girl and her mother follow the stages, from raising sheep to making a sweater.  Schubert uses rhythmic, rhyming text and the little girl’s repeated question, “What are you doing?” to frame this cozy story.  Feeding, then shearing the sheep, washing and carding the wool, and spinning wool into yarn moves readers through spring and into summer.

            Dyeing the yarn, and knitting the wool carry the lively tale into the fall season.  The sweater is completed with a “woolly hug.”  The entire process is flavored with warmth and love.  The ending, with a reversal of roles, supplies the beginning of the repeating cycle.

            U’Ren’s bright watercolor illustrations, spread across double pages, show both concentration and action.  This is especially true as the little girl models her mother’s activity: She brushes the dog while mom is carding the wool; the girl turns cartwheels as mom is spinning the yarn, etc.

            A simple storyline balances details in the paintings. This vivid weaving of words with artwork makes a complex project easily understandable to young readers. 

           

Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby  

Putnam, $16.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 1 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Kendall Branch.  Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

            Pink is the tiniest piglet in a litter of newborns.  Healthy brothers and strong sisters playfully push him away from mama pig at eating time. 

            Fortunately, a new dachshund mom on the farm, named Tink, becomes a foster mom for Pink. “She licked him and fed him and tucked him in close.”

Even though he doesn’t look like them, none of the puppy brothers or sisters pushes him away. They are all the same size. 

Photos show Pink, Tink and both sets of siblings.  Especially appealing are the pictures of Pink eating, sleeping and playing with the dachshund pups. 

The author/photographer and her family raise many animals on their farm in West Virginia.  Her text and matching photos show a compassionate story of a sweet dachshund mother, whose foster baby, Pink, is thriving on the farm today.

What the Ladybug Heard by Julia Donaldson 

Illustrated by Lydia Monks 

Henry Holt, $17.99 (hardcover) 

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3 

(This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Opa Locka Branch, South Dade Regional.  Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

            What fun to read this book out loud!  The text has wonderful rhymes, repetition and rhythm. 

In the farmyard the ten animals each have something to say. The ladybug, however, listens.  And that is Donaldson’s clever key to the story.

            Ladybug hears two thieves as they make their plan to steal the prize cow.  Readers see a humorous map they have made of the farmyard. 

Ladybug chooses her first word well: It is the most important. “Help!”  Then, after the animals “Gather round,” she whispers into each ear, her plan to outwit the robbers.

            Monk’s cheerful paint and collage illustrations catch the eye and give each animal identifiable visual characteristics to match their predictable sounds.  A variety of textures and perspectives create action and interest. 

This brightly colorful tale is high on slapstick and lacking in menace. It invites listener participation and begs to be read again and again.

Here are more great titles to make the farm fun and fascinating:

Farm by Elisha Cooper.  Orchard Books, $17.99 (hardcover) Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3 (This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

Cock-a-doodle-doo, Creak, Pop-pop, Moo by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Brad Sneed.  Holiday House, $7.99 (paperback) $16.95 (hardcover) Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 1 (This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson, illustrated by Marcellus Hall.  McElderry Books, $16.99 (hardcover) Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2 (This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Allapattah Branch, Lemon City, Culmer Overtown, Edison, Kendall, Miami Lakes, Kendall, North Shore, Opa Locka, South Dade Regional.  Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

 

The Geese March in Step by Jean-Francois Dumont.  Eerdmans, $16.00 (hardcover) Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3 (This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

Wake Up, Rupert! by Mike Twohy.  Simon & Schuster, $16.99 (hardcover) Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2 (This book is available to purchase from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

Cock-a-Doodle Dance! by Christine Tricarico, illustrated by Rich Deas.  Feiwel and Friends, $16.99 (hardcover) Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 2 (This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Culmer Overtown Branch.  Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)

The Cow Who Clucked by Denise Fleming.  Henry Holt, $17.99 (hardcover) Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 1 (This book is available to borrow at the Miami Dade Library; Main Branch, Miami Lakes, Miami Springs, Kendall, Naranja, North Shore, South Dade Regional.  Also may be purchased from Books & Books online: http://www.booksandbooks.com)