Barnyard Banter

I had to have this book, since at age 2+ my grandson insisted that frogs say "burp" (insert realistic simulated eructation here). However, after a year his language has gained clarity and we're ready to let someone else enjoy this book. It's a great book for babies and toddlers, with a wide variety of farm and countryside animals depicted in large clear collage pictures easy to share with a group. However, the designer's insistence on placing black text on dark backgrounds makes it difficult for grandparents to read in less than brilliant light conditions.

Barnyard Banter by Denise Flemming - What a lovely little book! Love the vivid colors and the associated sounds of the animals. Children will love hearing the sounds of the barnyard animals while they look for Goose! My son loved shouting out the animals sounds while looking at the pictures. Fantastic book for toddlers and preschoolers.

The textured collage pictures alone make it worth picking it up. But it's also a great read-aloud book for the younger crowd.

Review:
I liked this book for two reasons. The first reason if the characters. Each animal character in the story has a unique personality, and make a sound unique to that species. The second reason are the illustrations. Like many of her book Denise Fleming, uses simple animal-like shapes to create the setting of a "Barnyard". The overall theme of this book is to inform the young reader about all the noises you would hear at a barn.

Summary: There are many different types of animals in the barnyard, but one is particular, Goose, seems to be hardest to find. The reader can see Goose in the background of each page, but we never see him up close until the very end when it shows he was chasing a butterfly.

Personal Reaction: I loved the colors and the way the pictures of animals related to the sounds they make. The anticipation of finding Goose, I feel, would keep children interested.

Classroom Extension:
1) Each student could have cut outs of different barnyard animals and paste them to a picture of a barn. Lastly, they could hide their Goose like in the story.
2)Children could re-enact each noise the animals made.

Beautiful book for read aloud to early childhood ages. Great introduction to animals of the farm, their sounds and their habitats. Rhythm, rhyme and flow make it a favorite of little ones. Good author/illustrator study book for older children.

Simple text with rhyming animal sounds, plus a "find the goose" element. Very nice mix for the youngest set.