Barnyard Prayers

by Laura Godwin, Brian Selznick (Illustrator)

A boy's toy farm animals come to life and talk to God in a series of prayers.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2000

About the author

Laura Godwin grew up in Alberta, Canada. She has written many well-loved books for children, including Barnyard Prayers, Little White Dog, Happy & Honey, and co-authored The Doll People, The Meanest Doll in the World, and The Runaway Dolls. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Maggie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Barnyard Prayers, I noticed the illustrations right off the bat because they make the characters look so realistic. The first little poem within the book caught my eye because it reminded me of a nursery rhyme that I used to pray as a child before going to sleep. The farmer was referring to the boy that takes care of his little stuffed animals. Within the barn, each stuffed farm animal has a page of a poem based on the animal. This book is a good read aloud before going to bed, but I can ask my students to draw out pictures of their barnyard animals and write a poem about that animal. They can use their imagination of whatever you want to write about the animal. I can always ask them about their bed time night routine and if their parents read them a story. They will learn to write titles of their poems. We will discuss the bolded captions and why they are bolded. I want to show them how to write a proper poem.

[Yvette Rojs]

This is a good book for a Christian Elementary book or a book for someone's children. It presents different prayers for animals and for their life's and needs.

[Jackie B. - Death by Tsundoku · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am reading the complete works of Brian Selznick this year, which includes all the books he illustrated. That is how I ended up with a copy of Barnyard Prayers in my library basket.

This beautiful picture book illustrates a young boy going to bed with his toy farm and farm animals spread all about him. He says a prayer for the farm, and then he imagines what all the animals will pray for. There are only two mentions of God, both in not overly-religious contexts. That said, it is still a book of fun prayers.

The illustrations are gorgeous. The colors are bold and vibrant, and the animals are all unique in the own way. I love how Selznick also brings elements from the previous pages into the next ones, thereby connecting the words in a way which really crafts a story, as opposed to a series of what might be deemed poems.

All in all, a cute book. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to teach their children about prayer.

[April Hochstrasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

A prayer coming from the mouths of the animals? A cute little prayer book with unusual prayers. What would the cat pray for? The cow? the bee? A small bedtime book that would set young minds on creative thinking about prayer.

[Amber the Human · Rating 2 out of 5]

I checked this out because it's illustrated by Selznick, whose work I really enjoy. But the "story?" I know it's just a very small book, but there was even less to it than there should have been. It's pretty forgettable, but I remember not being into it at the time.

[Chanin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and silly. Kids loved it and asked to read again.