Going to the fair!

This week is our local county fair – one of my favorite weeks of the entire year!  The fair is a big deal at my house, my husband and I were both raised in 4H, we met when we were counselors at 4H camp in high school, and now we serve as advisors for our local 4H club.  We take the entire week off of work to help out with fundraisers and special events, watch our club members show their animals, and enjoy spending time with friends that we don’t get to see very often.

In honor of the fair I wanted to share some of my favorite farm themed books with you.  Here are five books that I love to share with my students.

1. Charlie the Ranch Dog.  I love Ree Drummond’s Blog, so when I found out that she was writing a children’s book I was ecstatic.  She writes books exactly the same way that she writes blog posts, children love the conversational style and her animal characters have wonderful personalities.  Whenever I pull this book out my students respond with a chorus of “I love Charlie!”

2. Rosie’s Walk.  I’ve written about Rosie a number of times, but I can’t make a list of books about farm animals and not mention this one.  Rosie’s Walk gives children the opportunity to become storytellers, helping them to feel confidant about reading.

3. Click Clack Moo.  I love this series by Doreen Cronin, her characters are hilarious and their solutions to the problems that they encounter are genius.  The children love these stories, and I think they teach children to solve problems using creativity and perseverance.

4. Otis. This is a great book about old friends and new friends, and how everyone is a valuable member of the farm (or the classroom).  The illustrations are incredible, and they do a wonderful job of turning Otis the tractor into a character with feelings and emotions all his own.

5. Barnyard Dance.  No one understands young children quite like Sandra Boynton.  Her funny rhymes and nonsense words speak to them.  Barnyard dance is no exception, it makes you want to get up and square dance.