Little Old Farm Folk

Cute illustrations and a fairly good portrayal of old timey farm life, though most people don't have to chase crowd away from their corn these days. Ha! :) There were a few incongruities that struck me as I was reading it: 1) Carrots aren't growing in the summer when corn, tomatoes, and beans are ripening, so the little old lady couldn't have harvested them. 2) I grew up in farming country and none of the farmers had indoor pets. I realize portraying people's pets in books adds a sense of coziness that is difficult to achieve otherwise, but in my experience is very inaccurate, especially the last page with the dog sleeping in the bed in between the little old farmer and his little old wife! I know it's silly, but the dog in the bed bugs me. My parents and grandparents would never have allowed the dog in the house, much less in the bed! 3) Last but not least, the connecting phrases at the end of each page are cute, but some of make really bumpy rough connections from the actions on one page to the start of the next. I went back to reread one because I thought surely I'd misread it, but no. The "smooth" connection was that rough/non-existent ("And as much as a pig loves the mud..."). Summary: The book is cute with mentions of chickens, milking, etc, but a little fact checking about when certain veggies ripen, reworking a few of the connections from page to page, and keeping the dog out of the bed in the last page (I know, the cozy factor is nice, but they could have shown the dog on a rug at the foot of the bed or on the covers next to the cat--the dog in the middle of the bed as if it is the proper occupant really bothers me!)--those changes could take this from a 3.5 or 4 star book to 5 stars, in my opinion.

I bought this book for my son for his first Christmas. I had seen Wisnewski's other book, TRIO, at the library and instantly loved the style of it. My son was 7 months when I gave it to him, and he really took to the illustrations. He's now 18 months, and this continues to be one of his favorite books. He especially loves the cat and the dog and points to them on every page. This is a charming and beautifully drawn book. I plan to give it to other friends with small kids. Highly recommend both this book and TRIO.

This is one of those beautiful board books that is pleasant to read over and over again for the parent and child. My little one loved this book so much we made a blueberry pie just like the little old woman. Beautiful both in text and illustrations!

Very cute story and photos. My daughter loves to find that cat on almost every page!

This little book is precious. Love the illustrations. Fits into my Waldorf/natural education style.

This is such a cute book! I can see it definitely being a favorite for my little one who hasn't yet arrived!

Super cute book:)))

This adorable book follows this old couple through the activities of their day from milking cows and harvesting cabbage to baking pie and knitting. The rhymes are nice and the illustrations are perfect. My son (3 yrs) likes that he can identify many of the activities the farm folks do.