My Farm Friends

PreS-K—Listeners are greeted by chirping birds, a mooing cow, and a crowing rooster, and welcomed to the farm by narrator Tom Bodett whose soothing, folksy delivery enhances this charming picture book (Putnam, 2011) written and illustrated by Wendell Minor. The pace is slow enough for listeners to take time to pour over the luminous illustrations and consider the rhyming text that offers fun facts about common farm animals, with a humorous twist. Bodett's voice is especially well-suited to sharing wry insights like, "cows drink a bathtub full of water to produce milk every day, but suppose you tried to take a bath and a cow got in the way?" Bodett seems as surprised as listeners to learn that a content turkey purrs like a cat and that a horse often sleeps standing up. Bodett steers clear of singsong cadence, which is fortunate, as some of the rhymes are a bit awkward. The narration of each page is accompanied by its own quiet but jaunty tune performed by woodwinds and strings. Sounds of the featured animals are also audible. The book concludes with additional bits of trivia about each of the ten highlighted animals. Listeners will enjoy their experience at the farm and want to revisit often.–Constance Dickerson, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, OH