A FARMER'S LIFE FOR ME

Name: A FARMER'S LIFE FOR ME
Author: Jan Dobbins
ISBN: 978-1-84686-790-3

by Jan Dobbins ; illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013

An idealized view of farm life; for a more artistic approach, see Nancy Tafuri’s This Is the Farmer (1994) or Elizabeth...

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A romantic view of the working life of a busy farm is conveyed in a series of irregularly metered three-line rhyming verses followed by a jaunty refrain.

“Down in the paddock, we check the water trough. / The horses are thirsty; have they got enough? / Turn on the hosepipe. Whoosh! Now turn it off. / 1,2,3, it’s a farmer’s life for me.” From milking cows to gathering eggs, cherry picking, and tending to pigs, sheep and horses, parents and children cheerily do the work and embrace it with a “1,2,3, it’s a farmer’s life for me.” Young and old work side by side to mow and rake the hay or feed the hungry lambs. Inside the farmhouse, baking a cake and cutting it into eight slices makes a pleasant afternoon break. Cartoonish art in earthy and summery greens are rendered in gouache and acrylic that is then crafted through digital collage. The art creates an animated atmosphere for this elated group of singing family farmers. Backmatter provides a more informative view on the products resulting from a working farm. An enclosed CD (not heard) presents the text as a song performed by the Flannery Brothers; the written music is also included.

An idealized view of farm life; for a more artistic approach, see Nancy Tafuri’s This Is the Farmer (1994) or Elizabeth Spurr’s Farm Life, illustrated by Steve Björkman (2003). (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: April 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-84686-790-3

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Barefoot Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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WHEN I GROW UP

by Tim Minchin ; illustrated by Steve Antony ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018

Not as smooth as many other song-to–picture book titles; harmless but ultimately unsatisfying.

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Minchin’s affecting song from the Tony Award–winning musical Matilda gets the picture book treatment.

“When I grow up, I will be / tall enough to reach / the branches that / I have to reach // to climb the trees you get to climb // when you’re grown-up.” Three grayscale children (one with cropped hair and pale skin, one with long hair in a ponytail and glasses, and one with darker skin and two curly puffs) in shorts, T-shirts, and sneakers journey through increasingly whimsical double-page spreads. Imagining the freedoms of adulthood, the children fantasize about loading grocery carts with “treats” and battling “the creatures that you have to fight beneath the bed each night to be a grown-up.” The final spread shows the original trio at dusk under a large tree, looking wistfully at the branches: “When I grow up. / When I grow up. / When I grow up.” Spreads in dusty pastels sometimes clash with the children’s bold, primary-colored outfits, but they otherwise create a pleasant calm. The illustrations portray a relatively diverse array of characters, including children who use wheelchairs and children with varying hair textures and (gray) skin tones. Unfortunately, however, without the melody and the context of the musical, the bittersweet poignancy of the song is lost and the lyrics fall flat.

Not as smooth as many other song-to–picture book titles; harmless but ultimately unsatisfying. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: March 27, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-338-23384-1

Page Count: 30

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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FLIP FLAP OCEAN

by Nosy Crow ; illustrated by Axel Scheffler ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2018

New and pre-readers will flip.

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Split pages allow young Dr. Moreaus to create new animals by mixing and matching the tops and bottoms of a dozen sea creatures.

In this nautical variation on Flip Flap Farm (2014), accompanying labels and (anonymous) verses introduce a sea lion and then a shark that can be altered with a flip of either half page to become a “sea lark” or a “shion”—or, with the ensuing octopus, an “oction” or (going on) any of over 100 other chimerical creatures. Though the colors often clash violently, in his simply drawn paintings Scheffler designs the smiling figures so that the forms of the interchangeable parts match reasonably well, and the combination of spiral binding and heavy card-stock pages ensures at least some resistance to wear and tear. As a sort of bonus, the verses add light doses of fact: “You’ll see my fin from far away, / as it stands up so tall. / My jaws are full of pointy teeth— / I’ve hundreds all in all!”

New and pre-readers will flip. (Picture book/novelty. 3-5)