Noodle, a young panda of nonspecific gender, explores the farm in this touch-and-feel adventure.
With mother in tow, Noodle meets the usual farm suspects: horses, sheep, chickens and more. Each of the farm residents gets its own double-page spread and one tactile element for little fingers to explore. A pig on the cover has pink, leathery skin, and the sheep has a fuzzy coat on an interior page. There is a nice variety of touch-and-feel elements, and most of them look sturdy enough for enthusiastic toddlers (the chicken "feathers" may be the first to go). As with Noodle Loves to Drive (2012), the last spread features a Mylar mirror, in the shape of the cows' watering hole, to bring the child reader into the book. One or two lines of rhyming text per page allow for nice pacing, "Noodle loves the horses. / Noodle loves the sheep. / Noodle loves the cat. Shh, she’s fast asleep!"
Another appealing addition to the toddler-friendly Noodle series. (Board book. 1-3)