Big Red Barn

Margaret Wise Brown is perhaps best known for her classic children's book Goodnight Moon, but this is another of her books that has stood the test of time (and I would argue is even better than Goodnight Moon). Using rhymes and alliteration, Margaret Wise Brown explores the many animals found on a farm, including horses, cats, chickens, bats, mice, and more. The illustrations are so spectacular, with happy-looking animals frolicking about together and with their young, that I think it would be difficult to feel anything but "squee!" about this book. Indeed, I feel like this book would be a perfect antidote to wash any negative feelings from the day away. The illustrations are fairly basic in terms of not adding tons of extraneous show more details, but they include enough elements to make this book interesting for the little ones who may notice something new each time they look at this book.

The plot is slim, but there is actually a story here that allows for more excitement and reflection than the numerous board books that only have a single word on each page. Basically, the reader gets to follow the animals from morning to evening as they move about the barnyard area. The sturdy board book construction is perfect for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The older kids will understand the various aspects of the story a little bit more, but even the younger ones can get a kick out of pointing to the various animals, trying out animals noises on their own, etc. show less

This is a very sweet book about farm animals. It's simple, colorful, and takes us from daytime through nighttime on a farm. I enjoy reading it to my 2 1/2 year old grandson, We identify the animals we see. I define some words such as "bantam rooster", "lowed", and "bray". We do some counting together of eggs, puppies, and kittens. We also closely look at the pictures to find the field mice and to see if anyone is still awake at night. This is a lovely book for very young children.

There is something utterly wonderful in the simplicity of Margaret Wise Brown's farm story. Its by far my favorite of her books and I love the calm and gentle manner in which this book describes an afternoon on the farm. Good rhymes and chances to make animal sounds and count together. This book would be ok for a storytime but is absolutely terrific for reading aloud, one on one. A must for every household.

The “Big Red Barn" by Margaret Wise Brown does a good job of teaching a child about life on a farm using a realistic artstyle. I thought the main themes of this book were comfort or learning. The book teaches young readers the different animals you would find on a farm, the sound they make, and their daily activities before they are sent to bed. The author uses very simple words rhymed together that makes it easy to follow and engaging to the reader. The repetition of the book was also good because it almost made me excited to see the same rhythmic storytelling with the different animals at the same time learning the sounds they may make.

Another one that evidently sounds good to active toddlers and inspires them to sit quietly and listen. I could take it or leave it - no tear jerker OR funny lines - but it seemed to work for the kids.

A must have for anyone who has children. I have yet to meet a child who doesn't enjoy this book; or who doesn't ask for it to be read over and over. A nice bedtime story as well. This gives them a realistic look at life on a farm...in its own imaginitive way. Everyone needs to have this book.

This book is a good look at rhyming words without being poetical or sing-song. It is small but has nice pictures of all kinds of farm animals and lots of young. Recommend for use prior to a farm trip and possibly to show kids that animals on a real farm are actually housed by species, not all together.