Animal Farm Books

Thank goodness for Tim Egan and his wit. The animals' expressions when the farmer tells them about "lions" is priceless. I've known a few farmers in my life and many are very serious, so an animal rebellion for levity is truly enjoyable. Too many picture books today bore the adult reader, this book will make you laugh. The cow crowing like a rooster gets my son every time. And nothing is funny about corn.

Serious Farm is a seriously good childerns book. The illustrations fantastic and teh story is even better. Important messages about how family members need each other and the need to smile and laugh once in a while. Book length is just right as well. Not too short as to not really count as a bed time book and not too long. A charming book.

This book is not only an offering of great comic satisfaction, but it has an excellent message in it as well - while being serious can be a good thing, it is also a good thing to have some fun ("all work, no play..."). The illustrations are golden and the expressions speak volumes. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks a not so serious look at being serious.

We just checked this book out from the library and I'm planning on buying it now. It is a very cute book with great illustrations. My 3 year old wants to read it over and over. I would highly recommend it.

My family has read these stories aloud to our children for three generations. Since the 1st edition of these stories is long ago out of print, it was great to see that a new compilation of these stories was published. Now we all can have a copy of these wonderfully funny stories to give to our children, instead of fighting over the scarce old copies!

I had never heard of C. A. Stephens until this book was given to me (thanks, Stuart!). I suspect the book is best consumed as a read-aloud. The book is packed with stories, and much to my surprise, almost every one of them is quite funny! After reading this book, two new entities were permanantly added to our family culture: "Vermifuge" and "Master Lurvey".

I had never heard of C. A. Stephens until this was given to me (thanks, Stuart!). I suspect the book is best consumed as a read-aloud. It is packed with stories, and much to my surprise, almost every one of them is quite funny! After reading this, two new entities were permanantly added to our family culture: "Vermifuge" and "Master Lurvey".

This notable book is a compilation of stories based on the life of an extended family living on a Maine farm in the mid 19th century. It gives a rare glimpse into life at that time. Our family felt that it was in the same league as the Little Britches and Little House series. It's a great book for outloud family reading.

this is an extraordinary book. I cannot recomend it highly enough. Read it and re read it. Keep it by your bedside and read it whenever you need to feel alive again. beautiful, lucid, and true. read Sylvia's Farm.

This book gives voice to that connection to the earth that so many yearn for, or remember, or even know daily. It is wonderful when such hard won experiences can be shared and given the grace they deserve, accessible to all. Magic though, how Jorrin by subtle turns brings one to a sense of awe for sheep and goats!

I enjoyed this book very much. It's very easy to imagine meeting all the animals on the farm because the author describes their personalities in such detail. I went to school nearby and the descriptions of the weather and terrain brought back memories. The essays are more than just another new farmer tale. They are smoothly written and tightly constructed. Some describe the sad or profound moments of life. I'll be rereading Sylvia's Farm whenever I want to visit 'upstate'.

I read my copy straight through. Simple, yet lyrically written vignettes of both the struggles and the great joys of a hardscrabble farm life, told with the Yankee sensibilities of this serendipitous shepherd.

Not only for those who love animals. A real eye-opener for anyone who has ever thought of sheep as not much more than sweet but somewhat simple-minded bits of fluff. Sylvia Jorrin's journal captures their characters and their quirks. I finished this book hoping that she continues their stories.

Ten Cows to Texas by Peggy Mercer is perhaps the best children book I have come across in many moons.

It's a silly funny and wholesome tale for children aged 3 to 8 that involves the sage of Ten Cows that need to be in El Paso Texas the next day to get in movies and t.v. commercials, etc.


But they are in the boondocks of Lonesome Cow GA.

So they hijack an 18 wheeler truck and a sleepy driver and Mimi the head cow( sister) drives the big truck across the South to Texas!


The book's art work is amazing and very very bright with great Colors and sparkles on the cover, and the text is great. The artist captures the true flavor of Texas with Jack Rabbit, Whitetailed deer and Texas Blue Bonnets.

Texans have grabbed the book by the horns and the book is now found in the Alamo Gift Shop, and Famous BUCKHORN Saloon & Gift Shop in San Antonio, Texas and at the YO Ranch Hotel in Kerrville, Texas and the Bandera General Store on Main Street in Bandera, Texas. Also at Barkley's Outdoor World in Bourne, Texas

I met the author, Peggy Mercer, on a Texas Book Tour
at Hastings Books in Kerrville Texas. She autographed a book for me. I was thrilled and my grand-daughter Juliania Nathan will get it soon.

It Five Stars " *****" Very Funny and Something that has never been done before!

Tink Nathan
Author & critic,
Camp Verde Outpost Ranch,
275 Witt Road,
Camp Verde, Texas 78010-3600


Two young sisters in Boerne Texas got the book and they fought over who was going to read it first.

Kids Love it!

That is what books are about and this is a fun, fun, fun book by Peggy June Mercer.

Thumbs up. Children need more of these conversational, fun and rewarding books. Life is too serious, even for children. Vivid illustrations and the fact that MIMI and crew won't give up, make this a great read for children, by a great storyteller, one of Georgia's best! 5 Stars!

I am not a teacher or librarian just a Gram that tries to keep a good collection of books for the kids. This book is wonderful, the story is a fun story for children, makes reading fun for them. The colors are bright something that keeps the little ones attention, drab they dont like. Its in a cartoon format which children love. All in all this is a wonderful childrens book. And this gram loves it to.

This is a great book for children written by an educator who understands the minds of children in the age group for whom the book was written. I have watched children read this book and also watched those too young to read "see" a story through the excellent pictures. As a retired professional educator who spent many years trying to deal with children who were reluctant to read, I guarantee that this book will be enjoyed by the little ones.

We have a library with over 300 children's books, and Tippy-Toe Chick, Go is a family favorite! Your children will just love this book! The illustrations are cute and colorful. The prose is adorable and catchy. The length of the story line on each page is just right. I can't stand books that have paragraphs of text, yet few illustrations. Smaller children will cheer for Little Chick as she performs the task that her Mother, Big Chick and Medium Chick were unable to do and triumphs over Grumpy Dog to get to her favorite treat - sweet itty-bitty beans and potato bugs! My third grader enjoyed reading this out-loud to the family tonight, and so I came here to Amazon to see if there were more wonderful books by George Shannon. I can only hope they are as good as this one!

Adult readers like to think they're smart enough to read picture books. They like to believe that picture books hold no surprises for them and that the smartest picture books in the world are no match for grown-up wisdom and experience. That's why I always appreciate those picture books that offer the unexpected. Child readers know better than their parental counterparts. They're aware that at any moment a picture book can offer surprising delights and plot twists. After reading through "Tippy-Toe Chick, GO!" I remembered this. At first the book looks like one of those stories in which a baby chicken following her mother and siblings becomes so entranced with the world around her that she becomes lost and confused. There are roughly 5 million picture books with this exact plot. Instead, and to my vast relief, the story was about a baby chick that uses its special skills to defeat an enemy of vast proportions and, as a result, win the love of her fellows. And it's cute too.

We meet a mother hen and her three chicks. Wearing a Charlie Brownish expression of permanent worry, the hen takes her chicks every day to the nearby garden to eat itty-bitty beans and potato bugs (their favorite treat). Big Chick and Middle Chick follow obediently but Little Chick tends to dawdle along to observe the world around her. When she sees that she has fallen behind she runs "tippy-toe, tippy-toe" to catch up. This routine happens with great regularity until one day a dog on a rope prevents the family from making their daily garden run. The chicks are, needless to say, put out. To stop the dog the Big Chick attempts to reason with the dog. No good. Then the Middle Chick tries threats. No good. Finally, the Little Chick decides to try her hand (in spite of the laughter of her siblings). She runs "tippy-toe, tippy-toe" at the dog and around a tree. The dog follows angrily until it gets caught and the others are able to safely get to the garden. The last shot is of Little Chick descending on a large juicy potato bug with the word, "YUM!".

With a catchy title like, "Tippy-Toe Chick, GO!" you'd kind of expect the book to be of the rhyming variety. This is not the case. Though there's a lot of enjoyment to be had in reading "tippy-toe, tippy-toe" over and over, that's about as rhythmic as it gets. The text is rather straightforward, but with a nature that's fun. Some words are in bold or capitalized to help adult readers know what phrases to stress. I'm not sure if there's a moral to the story beyond, "Little people can help too" (a staple in children's literature and folktales). Are we supposed to learn something when reason and violence don't work against opponents? Are we to assume that outsmarting them is the only recourse left? Or am I reading too much into a 27 page picture book? Whatever the case, the illustrations to this story are as simple as the text. Drawn by artist Laura Dronzek (married, as it happens, to the fabulous children's author/artist Kevin Henkes of "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse" fame), the pictures are big, bright, and colorful. With minimum expressions, Dronzek is able to convey each animal's emotions perfectly. The pictures are broken up nicely into full colorful spreads, images where characters react on a pure white background, and (in at least one case) four individual pictures spanning two pages. Altogether, the artist has matched her illustrations nicely to the story.

"Tippy-Toe Chick, GO!" isn't the most original picture book out there today, but it's one of the nicest. And while kids probably won't go gagga over it (as they would with, say, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus") they'll like it quite a lot. If you're the kind of person who enjoys reading catchy phrases like "tippy-toe, tippy-toe" and want a picture book that teaches a basic lesson about individual talents, this chick's for you.

This is a perfect book. The author packs an amazing amount of story per word - all with fun-to-read rhythm. The illustrations are great, too - priceless expressions on the poultry. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

George Shannon's Tippy-Toe Chick, GO! is an engaging and recommended children's picturebook about a resourceful little yellow chick who must use her cleverness and speed to outwit a fierce dog that is blocking the way to food for her whole family. An upbeat tale of finding one's hidden strengths told with singsong prose and illustrated in vibrant colors by Laura Dronzek.

Laugh-out-loud funny! The kids loved it and the adults had their funny bones tickled as well. Read this one out loud to the whole family, then plan on having tacos for Thanksgiving.

This "Thanksgiving comedy" highlights gratitude of an unusual sort--that of not ending up basted on a Thanksgiving Day platter. Which is important if you happen to be a turkey on "Wishbone Farm."

Turk's parents are proud of their big, strong son. His mother thinks he'll be a dancer. His father is sure he'll be a star athlete. No one listens to Runt when he warns that his brother "is a goner."

While his family is blissfully ignorant of the impending signs around them, Runt, small but smart, devises ways to keep them from the roasting pan.

This sassy wobble-gobble of a story is stuffed with word play, energetic drawings and imagination.

Lisa Wheeler writes some of the most delightful children's books around today. "Turk and Runt" is a gigglefest! What child can't relate to Runt, the younger brother, who just can't seem to measure up to "perfect" Turk. No-one ever listens to Runt and it nearly costs Turk his life. Read this book to your children or just read it for your own pleasure.

This is simply the story of a family of turkeys, not unlike many human families you may know. Mom, Pop, The Golden Boy and of course the Runt. This is an absolutely hilarious Thanksgiving tale. The illustrations are great and the story line will keep you snickering from front to back. This is actually quite a useful book for the class room. After reading the book and finding out how runt saves the day, have the children write you a letter, as a turkey, talking you out of not having him or her for your feast. Out of a class of third and fourth graders, you get some very interesting stories. I enjoyed this one, thought it was funny and well done.

This was a present for my 21 years old friend and she thinks that it is cute. The book has amazing pictures (very detailed) as well the story is funny. I'm totally sure that it is worth to buy it although probably to somebody younger. But everything depends on sense of humour therefore age is not primary.

I am a teacher and use this book with my English language learners. They love the pictures, and the story line is very easy to understand. It's great for beginners learning to read and to learn about farm animals!

I bought this book for my five year old son who is an emerging reader. He loves both hearing and reading the story (over and over). The pictures and story are fun and engaging.

The story is about two farm pigs who are eventually sent away from their farm because of their prankish activities. They are then "adopted" by another farmer and his wife who enjoy their antics.

I bought this book for my daughter and I love it as much as she does. The pigs are adorable and the pictures are worth a thousand words.

The story was so cute. It was neat to have the little girl share her story about her experience with grandpa. It is really nice to see such a simple story that brings a neat message of love and family. Good Job!

This delightful story reminded me of growing up next to a dairy farm as a child.

The story gives me a change to talk to my grandchildren about my memories as a child. I love this little book.

Grandmother

This book will make your young children laugh. A wonderful story about Grandpa Joe and the milk stool.

This is the best book I ever read because of the pictures. The pictures and the colors are very beautiful because they are light and dark. This book is great.

My 20 month old daughter and I enjoy looking through this book at the beautiful paintings. I am sure she will love it for a long time to come. The author did a wonderful job describing each month of the year and what was special about it for a certain animal. Very nice!

This book is beautifully written and illustrated. My children (ages 3 & 6) and I love the book and they request it over and over again. The book goes through the months of the year describing what activities would be found on a farm during the months. We highly recommend it!

I think that it is very rare nowadays to come across a book that be as entertaining as it is educational. my kids love this book for the entertaining qualities, and i love it for the latter.

This is a nice story book about a Jewish boy in Eastern Europe trying to behave in synagogue and gets kicked out by his father. He needs to perform his kapores with his village using chickens. The chickens object to the treatment and ask for the tradition to be changed. What to do? How will kapores be performed?

although i haven't rad this book, yet it seems like one which you can have fun with because of it's characters yt you can get the moral of the story as well. you can also see a different perspective of how people think. i have heard many good things about this book and anyone who has time for a "fun/learned" read, shouls give this a try

I loved this book. Not only did I learn a rather obscure & bizarre jewish tradition, I fell in love with the wonderful illustrations!
Though I am a christian, I will enjoy sharing this book of jewish life and practice with my grandkids. A wonderful & culturally rich tale with delightfully engaging illustrations!

Being a new grandfather, I am getting back into books for children. The story is important, of course, and this is a cute story about a fascinating and rather esoteric bit of Jewish tradition...good as well as instructive for the children. But what makes this book are the illustrations! They grab you in the bookstore and make you want to buy the book. They wonderfully illustrate the simple little story, giving it depth and character that will fascinate the children long after the words are finished. Trueman's wonderful colors and technique give the characters life, despite a certain stylistic stiltedness that he obviously chose to accomplish his purposes with the book. Buy the book for the story, yes. But certainly buy it for the pictures!! Your kids or grandkids will have a ball...and so will you!