Good Reads: Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm

I’ve been reading some amazing books lately, but today I wanted to share one of The Littlest Apple’s favorite books: Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm, by Alice and Martin Provensen.

We’ve had this book for about a year now, but in the last month or so, it’s become a daily read.  I love it, The Littlest Apple loves it, and I love that he loves a book that’s not about construction, Buzz Lightyear, and superheros.  This book is a wholesome, clever, somewhat old-fashioned (in a good way!) and heartwarming story about all of the animals that live at Maple Hill Farm.  The illustrations are wonderful and you really get to know the personality of each different animal on the farm.

The book begins with the following intro….

Who lives at Maple Hill Farm?  People live here.  Two dogs and five horses live here.  A pig lives here.  Then there are- some geese, lots of chickens, a few cows, a few goats, several sheep and four special cats.

Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm then details all of the animals, showing what kinds of things they typically do throughout the day and how they interact with each other.  The Littlest Apple loves to read about the cats, particularly Max who can be found hissing at Gooseberry, watching birds, teasing the chipmunks, hiding in the garden, and playing with a ball of yarn.  We also like to read about the dogs Muffin and Dinah, who play in very different ways.

The horses are another favorite (especially the part when they roll in the mud after getting combed and when they get scared by a little piece of paper blowing in the wind).  We also find the sheep amusing, especially a ewe named Whiney who always eats poison weeds and gets sick, gets lost easily and faints from fright when she’s getting sheared.  The hens and roosters (especially that bully, Big Shot) are entertaining too!

Last but not least, there are a few pages at the end about some of the neighbors on Maple Hill Farm, including snakes, chipmunks, squirrels, birds, foxes, wasps, crickets, mice, and a family of skunks (best not to notice them!!).

So really, we love ALL of the animals!  At 64 pages, we usually split this book in half to read over two sittings, but there are also plenty of illustrations for The Littlest Apple to look at during quiet time on his own.

There is something just so soothing about this wholesome book, and I can’t say enough good things about it!  I’m looking forward to reading the companion book, The Year at Maple Hill Farm, which details the farm throughout the different seasons.

How do I find neat books like this to read?  Even though I don’t homeschool, I DO love to check out reading lists from various homeschool curriculum.  This book is on several lists, including Sonlight’s P3/4 Curriculum.

What books have you and your kids been reading lately?

Disclosure: I have not been asked to review this book.  It’s just a great book that I wanted to share with you.  The links in the post are Amazon Affiliate links.