Book Review: The Farmyard Jamboree

Book Info

Author: Margaret Read MacDonald
Illustrator: Sophie Fatus
Sung by: Bob King
Pages: 32 Pages
Publisher, Date: Barefoot Books, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-84686-290-8
Ages: Read Alone: 4-7
Read Together:0-4

Summary

The farmyard Jamboree, a whimsical fable based on Chilean and Latin American folklore, is a rhythmic story narrated by a young boy who gradually acquires a flock of farm animals. From a clucking red hen who gives him a chick to a mooing brown cow who gives him a calf, the little Chilean boy gains 16 farmyard pets in this cumulative story. This book, which is part of the PBS Parents Collection, is accompanied with an audio CD containing the story sung as a catchy folk music tune.

My Opinion

The progression of this tale brings a nice blend of repetition and learning concepts. Each animal that is introduced is accompanied by a unique animal sound, a color (ie. barking black dog), and the name of the baby animal associated with it. The farmyard animals are counted by two’s all the way up to sixteen. The vibrant illustrations were done using a combination of acrylic and pastels. They mirror the folk art theme and tie in well with the text.

I read the book before I played the included audio CD and thought to myself, “That was a cute story.” When I played the music along with reading the story, I was tapping my foot and singing along to the song. `The song is simple enough to memorize for times when the CD is not handy. You can download the guitar score by visiting <>Barefoot Books Website.

Final Review

Based on the exceptional illustrations and welcoming repetition that this story holds, I would recommend this story for children 3-7. Children younger than 3 or with short attention spans may find this story a tad long to read all the way through, but would enjoy the illustrations and parents could “shorten” it by eliminating some of the repetition. Children this age would also like the song, with or without the book.

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