RYDER, SKY, AND EMMALINE

Children spend the day on a farm in Ford’s rhyming picture book.

Ryder, Sky, and Emmaline enjoy completing tasks like picking veggies for lunch, tending crops, helping the “farmer pull the plow,” and more. They visit the farm’s animal residents, including cows and pigs, and have fun running around fields, playing on the swing at the pond, and creating hay mazes. After they finish their chores, the kids visit the “cool and leafy glade,” where they picture themselves in fantasy scenarios. Sky imagines gazing at underwater creatures from a submarine window, and Emmaline pretends she’s an astronaut zooming in space. When the sun sets, the kids are greeted by dogs who have come to escort them home. While many farm books are largely concept stories focusing solely on chores, Ford offers insight into teamwork and friendship as the pals work together. The rhyme scheme has a playful meter, which will keep readers interested (“Scatter chicken feed around / Dig up beets from underground”). Zhi provides colorful cartoonlike illustrations of the children, who show a diverse range of skin tones. Readers will appreciate the vibrant background scenery, like a multihued sunset.

A pleasant depiction of bucolic life emphasizing camaraderie and community.