A Farmer's Life for Me

by Jan Dobbins, Laura Huliska-Beith (Illustrator), The Flannery Brothers (Performed by)

Overview

"This delightful book will draw the young readers into a farmer’s colorful world” – School Library Journal

Join a busy family as they spend a day working and playing on the farm. From milking cows at dawn to closing the gate at dusk, little ones will discover the rhythm of life on the farm. With bright illustrations and a catchy singalong, this book is the perfect introduction to a farmer’s daily routine.

• Educational endnotes provide insights into farming life
• Includes a QR code for video animation and audio singalong
• Perfect for young readers curious about farm life and daily routines

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646865024
Publisher:	Barefoot Books
Publication date:	02/07/2022
Series:	Barefoot Singalongs
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 9.75(h) x 0.11(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jan Dobbins is a specialist in music education for young children. A songwriter and composer, she runs creative children's workshops focusing on instrumental music, art and drama. She is also an instrumental teacher and former head of music for schools in North Somerset, England, and has written a successful tutor book series for violin, viola and cello.

Laura Huliska-Beith earned her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, where she currently teaches as an adjunct instructor. She works primarily as a freelance illustrator in her attic studio, commuting on a chair between her painting table and her computer station, which she uses to complete her illustrations.

The Flannery Brothers started as a family band with five-year-old Dan on piano and nine-year-old Mike on guitar. Dan, who earned his master's degree in Early Childhood Development, teaches in Brunswick, Maine, USA, while Mike continues to follow his passion for music as a producer in New York City, USA.

Editorial Reviews

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)

Kirkus Reviews