Children's Book Recommendations

Books about New England farming for the young ones. What could make a better bedtime story?

Angus and Sadie
Cynthia Voight
A storybook by Newbery medalist Cynthia Voight about two border collie puppies growing up on a farm in Maine. Ages 8-12.

Apple Valley Year
Ann Warren Turner and Sandi Wickersham Resnick
A year in an apple orchard, for ages 5-8, illustrated in a folk-art style.

 

Barn Debby Atwell A picture book for children 4-8 in which a barn tells its own life story from its "birth" in the Revolutionary War to the present. Charming folk art illustrations.

Christmas Tree Farm
Sandra Jordan
The story of a year at a Christmas tree farm in Rhode Island. Out of print, but widely available used.

A Farm of Her Own Natalie Kinsey-Warnock A girl spends a summer on a farm in Vermont and dreams of a farm of her own. Ages 5-7.

 

A Farmer's Alphabet Mary Azarian Mary Azarian produces yet another beautiful book of woodcuts depicting rural life in Vermont, this time letter-by-letter.  A great alphabet book for children 4-8.

 

From Dawn Till Dusk Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, Mary Azarian (Illustrator) A great illustrator and a great author team for a book that describes life on a farm in Vermont. Ages 5-8.

 

The Live Bale of Hay: A Real Maine Adventure Carol S. Dean A young girl's has an adventure one night on her farm in Maine when a bale of hay turns out to be a bear.  Watercolor illustrations. Ages 4-8.

 

M Is For Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet Cynthia Furlong Reynolds An alphabet book with both rhyming verse for younger readers and more complicated text for older readers, illustrated with images specific to Vermont.

 

Mowing Jessie Haas and Jos. A. Smith A story about a child protecting the wildlife around her as she helps her grandfather mow the hay. Ages 4-6.

 

Ox-Cart Man Donald Hall A must for any young New Englander! A Caldecott Award winner. Poet Donald Hall tells the story of a nineteenth-century farmer's trip to Portsmouth, NH to sell the wares his family has grown and made throughout the year.

 

Stone Wall Secrets Kristine Thorson, Robert M. Thorson, Gustav Moore (Illustrator) A Smithsonian notable book for children. A young boy learns how stone walls on a New England farm can reveal both geology and history. Ages 8-12.

 

Sugaring Time
Kathryn Lasky and Christopher G Knight
For children in upper-elementary school, this books walks through the maple sugaring process with black and white photos and detailed descriptions.

Time for the Fair Mary Train A child looks forward to the country fair throughout the year. Maine author Mary Train was inspired to write this book by her own daughter who could not wait for the return of the yearly fair.  Ages 4-8.

 

The Two Brothers William Jaspersohn A story of two Prussian brothers who emigrate to Vermont and live on adjoining farms. Ages 4-8. Part of the Family Heritage series.