Wendy Cheyette Lewison

Going to Sleep on the Farm
Going to sleep on the farm by Wendy Cheyette Lewison is one of my all time favorite books! First, the illustrations in this book are incredible. They look like paintings and fill the page. The pictures are also very descriptive. For example, the reader sees the cow laying down, the Dad getting sleepy and as each animal goes to sleep, you see the previous animals that have gone to sleep in each picture! As the book progresses through the animals on the farm, the show more lighting in pictures grows dimmer to represent the darkness of night coming. The pictures on the right, mirror the pictures on the left. For instance, there is a painting of a cow on the left page and on the right page the little boy is playing with a toy cow while talking to his Dad. At the very end of the book the little boy finally goes to sleep and the blanket covering him has all the animals on the farm that he asked his Dad about! The pictures in this book tell the whole story even without the words. Another feature of this book is the rhyming. “A horse, of course, stands up all night, while he’s fast asleep, with his eyes shut tight”. Finally, this book incorporates animal sounds as well as repetition of phrases. The little boy asks repeated how animals go to sleep. Each time he says….How does the (animal) go to sleep, tell me how, how does the (animal) go to sleep? Young readers will enjoy the predictability as well as the opportunity to join along in helping to read. The big idea of this story is that everything goes to sleep, even tired little boys. show less

Clifford has a loose tooth, which you'd think would have come out when he was still a puppy instead of the giant he now is. He and his friends imagine ways to help it come out right away, but Clifford is anxious and decides to wait it out. It might work for some kids worried about their own loose teeth, but it is pretty bland otherwise.

I did think the ending was odd, as Clifford's owners usually don't exploit his size for profit in the way shown.

The title page says the story is adapted, but show more I cannot find an episode of the animated show that matches it. Publicity text for the book says the story is original, so I guess the adapted reference is an error. show less

I loved this unique, playful Children’s book. First, the book is engaging for the readers as they try to guess why Mrs. Milly likes the things she does. The lines are filled with rhymes and riddles that appeal to all ages and make the story fun and enjoyable to read. “She likes green. She does not like red. She likes butter. She does not like bread. She likes seeds. She does not like flowers.” In addition, the illustrations enhance the text. My favorite part of the illustrations is the show more color. The bright colors are engaging and attractive to look at. You can see the playful humor in each picture and deign. However, the sentences are simple and there is little to no variety within each, although it may appeal to young ages. Finally, the story ends saying, “Mrs. Milly is so silly. Can you tell why?” It’s up to the readers to solve the riddle of why Mrs. Willy likes certain words, and does not like some others. show less

Okay, this one was really cute. If I do a program about rain or weather, I think I could definitely use this. I loved the rhythm of it, and the counting forwards and back.