Wannabe Farms

February 1, 2020

Gr 3-7-Wannabe Farms seems stuck in a time warp as development happens all around it. The animals are tired of the same old same old and decide to pursue their dreams. In the case of the cows, they want to build a car. The pigs want to play fancy dress up. The sheep want to style their own wool. The horses want to change the farm's business plan and the chickens catch the acting bug. This story collection in rhyme breaks the fourth wall to frequently address the reader. Nearly 150 pages of rhyme is difficult to sustain whether reading silently or aloud-rehearsal is recommended. Both readers and listeners will need stamina. While the pace is jaunty, the rhythm frequently falters and transitions abruptly with little logic. The humor veers to slapstick, but the situations are more often puzzling than hilarious. Why would pigs wishing to dress up use food as apparel? Plentiful two-color cartoon illustrations feature frenetic bug-eyed creatures and a good deal of visual humor. VERDICT This wannabe Seuss mostly misses the mark; but since humor is personal, it may find its audience.-Brenda Kahn, Tenakill Middle School, Closter, NJ

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2019
Grades 2-4 TV writer and sketch comedian McCann spins Orwell's Animal Farm into a set of thematically linked episodes featuring livestock whose efforts to mimic humans fail miserably but result in unexpected improvements in their social and cultural lives. First come the cows, who see cars zooming by and decide to build one of their own. The chickens are eager to invent a flat-screen TV ( Spoiler: It went poorly ), while horses try to attract visitors by pushing an old barn to a more visible spot by the highway. Cast in rollicking verse interspersed with prose glosses in orange explaining that no, animals can't really do that, each project quickly devolves into madcap chaos. But unexpected benefits emerge: the chickens discover a henhouse wall makes a perfect backdrop for live theatrical performances. The author makes his moral explicit early, and Lands adds to the ruckus with lots of fluidly drawn, orange-highlighted cartoon views of pop-eyed animals with comical expressions. Readers fond of the rustic hilarity of Denys Cazet's Minnie and Moo series may latch onto this.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)