‘The Farmer and the Clown’: a wordless wonder

The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee(Beach Lane Books, 2014)Good to Read for:Developing storytelling skillsTeaching empathyCreating calm and quiet  I’ve been developing a story around a little rat for years now. Thankfully, things have moved forward in recent months.

I’m currently working alongside a publisher whose editor sees it as a wordless picture book. It makes sense - the thumbnails and sketches accompanying the text that I pitched conveyed all its emotion (and more).

   

It seems like an excellent reason to immerse myself in some wordless picture books, including the wonderful The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane Books, 2014). In it, a farmer rescues a baby clown who bounces off the circus train. (An intriguing concept that reminded me of the song, Sarah Jane And The Iron Mountain Baby, by Steve Martin & Edie Brickell.)

If you think wordless picture books aren’t really stories, think again. I’ve highlighted some wordless picture books on this blog before (Hike, The Snowman, The Midnight Fair and Fox’s Garden), and they are all easy for children to follow. That’s not to say they are dull or straightforward. Their stories are nuanced and open to interpretation, yet remain accessible to kids.

“[Children] are really so visually literate,” asserts Frazee in one interview. “They can read pictures better than people who do read words because that’s how they get their information. …[T]hey see everything and they follow stories well beyond their capacity to read the meaning.”

Children can read – or at least infer – what is happening in the images. Once they’ve looked at and ‘read’ the pictures, the child’s storytelling skills come into play as they decide how to interpret what they see, a creative act that’s a huge boost to their self-esteem, especialy if they struggle with words. (And, as is likely with The Farmer and the Clown, readers will likely go back and reinterpret the story once they have a deeper understanding.)

    The Farmer and the Clown begins at the break of dawn with the Amish-like farmer heading out into the fields to pitch hay (in a sepia-toned landscape that lends the book (along with the steam train and the farmer’s humble life) a timeless feel).

As the farmer pauses to watch a passing circus train, it hits a bump, and something is flung from the back. He investigates and discovers a baby clown grinning from ear to ear.

   

In a series of vignettes, the baby clown fools around as all clowns do before hugging the tall (and grumpy-looking) farmer around his legs. Then they walk hand in hand back to the farmer’s home. It’s an intriguing juxtaposition, ‘a character collision done incredibly well. The effect is stunning and emotional’ – especially on re-reading the story when it dawns on you: the clown is miming falling from the train and is distraught and in need of a helping hand.

   

That image of the ‘Amish-like farmer holding the hand of a very smiley baby clown’ is where it started, recalls Frazee in her interview with The Horn Book. In the interview, she shares her inspiration for the characters and the process of developing their story:

 

‘And I thought, 'There they are. Those are my characters.' Then it was a question of why are they together? What is the story that brought them together? It came from the fact that they both had such different personas, really, from what they truly were. We think: the clown has a big smile so that means he's happy, and we maybe think the farmer's a grump, but there's more to him than that.’

– Marla Frazee  

That truth is revealed a few spreads later as the pair become acquainted.

First, an uneasy face-off, the farmer perhaps pondering what to do next.

At supper – the farmer is pictured eating (the clown is shown just looking at his food).

Finally, they take turns washing their faces in an old-fashioned tub.

This is a pivotal moment in the story, an ah-ha! moment, as Frazee reveals that beneath his facepaint, the clown feels sad and scared: a little clown who wants his family. Despite his gruff appearance, the farmer is moved to his very core. Everything takes on a new meaning.

   

The farmer looks grouchy and even mean, but he is actually very kind and nurturing. The clown looks happy with his painted-on smile, but he is sad and scared. Our first impressions are often wrong, and it seemed to me that the way to communicate that was to show it, not say it. That’s why I decided to leave words out of it.

– Marla Frazee  

A long night follows, with the baby clown lying awake and the troubled farmer at the foot of the bed. The following day, the kind farmer does all he can to bring a real smile to the clown baby’s face (kids will enjoy seeing the baby clown smartly juggling eggs while the farmer flounders and fails). After helping in the fields, the farmer takes the clown for a picnic lunch in the shade of a tree.

   

And that’s when they see it.

The circus train is passing by!

Quick! Run!

TOOOT! TOOT! TOOT! (The only words in the book!)

The farmer stands stooped and restrained as the clown goes berserk, frantically jumping up and down to get the train’s attention. The train stops, and the baby clown is reunited with his family.

   

Suddenly, the clown baby rushes back to hug his new friend goodbye - a bittersweet moment of tenderness reciprocated by the farmer who swings him joyously in the air like a doting grandpa, before removing the clown's hat and kissing the top of his head.

   

The baby (now wearing the farmer's hat) waves goodbye from the back of the train, leaving the kindhearted farmer alone on the farm once more. This ending would have been pretty heartbreaking were it not for his relaxed posture, reassuring readers he’s ‘contemplative but not unhappy’. Even so, it’s a relief that Frazee had the idea of opening a new story loop on the final page, leaving the farmer with another unexpected guest: a circus monkey who is shown secretly following the farmer and gesturing Shhh! to the reader.

   

“It took a while to get to the idea of that monkey. I hope it feels somewhat inevitable, but it really did take a lot of soul-searching to figure out the feeling I wanted to leave this farmer with. I didn't want it to be a devastating story.”

– Marla Frazee  

Kids will delight in this unexpected and cheeky ending, which is open-ended enough to leave readers wondering what happens next. Meanwhile, Frazee (unwittingly) sets herself up for a silent trilogy, with The Farmer and the Monkey and The Farmer and the Circus as follow-up stories, which I can’t wait to get my hands on…

Tips for sharing Picture Book

Take turns with your child to look at the pictures and tell the story. Remember: Wordless stories like this are empowering – there are no rights or wrongs!

Share your ideas about what is happening in the story – but leave room for (and encourage) your child’s interpretation.

Encourage your child to add more detail to their story by asking “W” questions: Who? Where? Why? When? (Not only is this a great moment for connection – but it also naturally increases their vocabulary.)

(Find more tips on sharing wordless picture books at Reading Rockets.)

Copyright © 2014 Marla Frazee (Story & Illustrations)From THE FARMER AND THE CLOWN by Marla Frazee(Beach Lane Books, 2014)Rat illustration © Tim Warnes (2024) GOOD TO READMarla Frazee’s Wordless Picture Book recommendations  

Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier

Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola

South by Patrick McDonnell

Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathman

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“both spare and astonishingly rich”

– School Library Journal

“unique and unforgettable” 

– GoodReads

BUY U.K. BUY U.S.A. * I EARN COMMISSION FROM THESE LINKS #AD/AFF RELATED ARTICLES SOURCESThe Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane Books, 2014)Marla Frazee, THE FARMER AND THE CIRCUS | Moms Don't Have Time To Read Books (The Zibby-verse, You Tube)WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: THE FARMER AND THE CLOWN & INTERVIEW WITH MARLA FRAZEE – threebooksanight.com (January 20, 2016)Marla Frazee Talks with Roger by Roger Sutton (The Horn Book, September 30, 2014)Simply 7 with Marla Frazee – “The Farmer and the Circus”, jenabenton.com (April 06, 2021)The Farmer and the Clown review by Martha V. Parravano (The Horn Book, December 17, 2014) Are you stuck for quality stories that you and your kids will enjoy? Sign up for recommendations and tips. SIGN UP HERE © 2024 BY TIM WARNES(UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED)****USE OF THIRD-PARTY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FALLS UNDER FAIR USE/FAIR DEALING PRACTICE