OLD MACDONALD DRIVES A TRACTOR

Tractors do many different jobs on the farm. Smiling Old MacDonald and his big red friend demonstrate a goodly number of them as his usually noisy animals quietly look on. He plants the seeds, waters the fields, harvests wheat and spreads manure. He even takes his animal friends to the fair before climbing the stairs for a well-deserved rest. Carter’s illustrations, acrylic paint over drywall compound and foam board, are as enticing as ever. Unfortunately, the text tries to squeeze in to Old MacDonald’s nursery rhyme. Sometimes the machine name doesn’t quite fit into the verse: “Old MacDonald drives a tractor. And on that tractor, he pulls a cultivator. Smooth it here. Smooth it there. Maybe Old MacDonald could find a cultivator . . . for his hair!” However, machinery-minded toddlers will not mind in the least. This likely offers them a few machines they haven’t yet heard of. (Picture book. 2-5)