I CAN HELP ON THE FARM

Friendly creatures lend a hand (or a paw, a hoof, or a wing).

Mimicking the pattern set up in previous works—I Can Help (2010) and I Can Help in the Neighborhood (2024)—Costello follows a string of farm animals as they help each other out of various sticky situations. A duckling patters curiously after a butterfly and gets lost. A dog bounds in to offer aid: “I can help.” The pooch flattens out the tall grass, clearing a path and allowing the duckling to reunite with family. Modeling appropriate manners, the duckling happily quacks, “Thank you, dog!” But now the dog is itchy. A sharp-nailed chicken scratches the dog’s back (“I can help”). The dog appreciatively barks, “Thank you, chicken!” Short, repetitive phrases, along with simple acts of kindness depicted in the artwork, make it clear to readers that they, too, can always be of assistance. Chicken coops, hay bales, and rolling meadows dot the farm setting, with each animal thickly lined in black in the foreground to highlight the predicament they have found themselves in. Coming full circle in the end, the little duckling returns the favor when another animal requires help.

Cooperation and community at its finest.