Our Farm

January 11, 2010
The inhabitants of a real-life refuge for abused farm animals inspired this collection of poems and watercolor portraits. Zakanitch (who collaborated with Gottfried on Good Dog
and Last Night I Dreamed a Circus
) captures his subjects in a variety of moods and modes. There are almost formal poses (the florid, impressionistic poultry are noteworthy), more impressionistic works (turkeys distilled to red wattles and reverse-silhouetted bodies against a green field); and casual, occasionally naïf-styled sketches, complete with sound effects like “oink” and “cluck.” It’s aesthetically intriguing and fun—readers are never quite sure what awaits on the next page. Gottfried fares less well: her conceit is that the free verse is written by the animals themselves, as in this poem by a turkey named Whisper: “See our magnificent dance in the grass./ We are so graceful, like a ballet class.” But aside from some familiar animal personality tropes (a sheep is imperious, chicks are giddy, rabbits are skittish), there’s little in the verse that conveys a unique voice or experience. Instead, the poems feel like they’re all cut from the same dreamy, earnest cloth. Ages 5–8.

January 1, 2010
PreS-Gr 3-This homage to the shelter for neglected and abused farm animals where Gottfried served as a volunteer is a book of poems and accompanying paintings that will raise awareness both of the Sanctuary and the sad reasons for which such a place exists. But it has more to recommend it. The poems are "narrated" by some of the shelter's inhabitants: Gabriella, a bantam chicken; Maya, a cow; Diego, a duck; and others. The quality of the poetry is uneven; the tendency to waver between rhymed meter and free verse is unsettling. Still, there's a disarming innocence throughout, and the best of the selections are enchanting. Zakanitch's illustrations are superb. Each one is a collectible work of art, exhibiting a masterful technique, tenderness, subtlety, and humor. Readers will halt nervously when they meet the glowering eye of the rooster and will want to reach out and touch the thick wooly head of the sheep. Childlike sketches are sometimes mixed in with the watercolor and ink paintings, lending them an easy informality. Splendid to look at, pleasant to read, "Our Farm" is also a fine springboard for talking about the real lives of farm animals in America."Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2010
Grades K-3 The creatures on an animal sanctuary provide the voices in this collection of playful poetry. Illustrated with large, handsome portraits of individual animals in watercolor, pencil, and ink, the poems on each double-page spread feature an animal that speaks about the bliss of living naturally in grass and dirt and roaming freely. Included are a piglet (Im free! / And Im running, / and oh / I can feel the sun on my snout), a bantam chicken, a goat, and a rabbit: See me in the grass? / Maybe I will hop to food / . . . Or go sniff pansies. A long final note fills in details of the farm sanctuary movement, which rescues neglected animals from factory farms, stockyards, and other cruel homes. There are few books for young kids on this subject. From the cover image of one vulnerable lamb to the farm overviews on the endpapers, the physical images about the joy of home will move young animal lovers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)