What do you think?
Rate this book
The Farmer's Boy
One of a series of classic Victorian children's books by the British artist and author. Caldecott was the eponym of the Caldecott Medal and transformed the world of children's books in the Victorian era. This book is a facsimile edition of "one of R. Caldecott's picture books," originally published in the late 1870's.
- GenresPoetryPicture Books
36 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1881
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 21, 2018
This is an old version of Old MacDonald had a farm. The art is interesting while the story is not. This is from the 1880s so it is more for historical record than a story.
February 21, 2016
I can see how this would have appealed to its original audience. There's lots of repetition, amusement and lovely artwork.
April 29, 2017
A variation of Old MacDonald had a farm.
September 28, 2024
The Farmer's Boy is one of those stories where each page builds on the rhyme scheme. Reading a story like this out loud can be tedious, but children always love them because they get to join in on all the parts which go on like this (from the section about the chicken):
With a chuck, chuck here, and a chuck, chuck there,
And here a chuck, and there a chuck,
And everywhere a Chuck;
And of course taking us through a variety of noises and sounds all the way through the barnyard and then some.
I love this book because it is pretty clever by throwing in some wooing of a pretty lass and talking about the children who are shouting and pouting. Very cute and funny.
Overall, I can't stress enough that if you love vintage children's books, you need to hunt down the books for Randolph Caldecott. They really do represent a new era in books and are quite pleasurable to explore.
With a chuck, chuck here, and a chuck, chuck there,
And here a chuck, and there a chuck,
And everywhere a Chuck;
And of course taking us through a variety of noises and sounds all the way through the barnyard and then some.
I love this book because it is pretty clever by throwing in some wooing of a pretty lass and talking about the children who are shouting and pouting. Very cute and funny.
Overall, I can't stress enough that if you love vintage children's books, you need to hunt down the books for Randolph Caldecott. They really do represent a new era in books and are quite pleasurable to explore.
July 13, 2024
A great illustrator
A great illustration for a tale we all heard in our childhood with the accommodation of the culture of our country.
A great illustration for a tale we all heard in our childhood with the accommodation of the culture of our country.
March 9, 2019
This is one of several reproductions of 19th century children’s books by British publisher Pook’s Press which I stumbled upon in a used bookstore. First published in 1881, it was illustrated by Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886), of Caldecott Award fame. A British illustrator, Caldecott began illustrating children’s books in 1877 and his first two were an immediate success. He continued with two books every Christmas until he died, chosing the stories and rhymes, and writing or adding to a few of the stories.
The text is very similar to the song “Old McDonald Had a Farm”, but Old McDonald is instead the Farmer’s Boy of the title who tells the story:
When I wad a farmer, a Farmer’s Boy,
I used to keep my master’s HORSES,
With a Gee-wo here, and a Gee-wo there,
And here a Gee, and there a Gee,
And everywhere a Gee;
Says I, My pretty lass, will you come to the banks
Of the Aire oh?
For some reason, the “Says I” is set apart in the left margin. The story goes on with lambs that baa, hens that chuck-chuck, pigs the grunt, and so on. On each page, all subsequent choruses are repeated, but by the third one, only the first line of the chorus appears followed by “&c., &c. &c.” then the final line to the lass. My favorite was the children who shout and pout, accompanied by an illustration in which a defiant little girl sprays him in the face from a small round object, as he holds a large squirming naked baby boy and another child sits in a small tub.
It’s more of a rhyme than a story. The illustrations really make the book. Detailed and though the colors are muted, they’re lovely. There are black and white illustrations as well. Most are true to life, but in one fanciful sketch the boy shows off a pig in glasses arranging lettered tiles with a foot to spell the name Mary to a girl his age (presumably the lass).
What’s particularly striking to the modern reader is the farmer’s boys clothes, which looks like a yellow smocked dress with a skirt that falls from chest to just below his knees, pale blue stockings held by bows just below the knees, and flat shoes secured by big blue bows. If it weren’t for his short red hair and the text, I’d have taken him for a girl. The children’s bath scene looks particularly feminine as he dons a white bonnet with lace and a bow and a red tartan apron.
In the final illustration, he is grown and in a more masculine yellow suit with floral waistcoat, but he still has the same blue stockings and bowed shoes. He is gallantly posing, top hat flung out in one hand, the other holding the hand of his pretty lass seated on a bench in a pink dress.
The text is very similar to the song “Old McDonald Had a Farm”, but Old McDonald is instead the Farmer’s Boy of the title who tells the story:
When I wad a farmer, a Farmer’s Boy,
I used to keep my master’s HORSES,
With a Gee-wo here, and a Gee-wo there,
And here a Gee, and there a Gee,
And everywhere a Gee;
Says I, My pretty lass, will you come to the banks
Of the Aire oh?
For some reason, the “Says I” is set apart in the left margin. The story goes on with lambs that baa, hens that chuck-chuck, pigs the grunt, and so on. On each page, all subsequent choruses are repeated, but by the third one, only the first line of the chorus appears followed by “&c., &c. &c.” then the final line to the lass. My favorite was the children who shout and pout, accompanied by an illustration in which a defiant little girl sprays him in the face from a small round object, as he holds a large squirming naked baby boy and another child sits in a small tub.
It’s more of a rhyme than a story. The illustrations really make the book. Detailed and though the colors are muted, they’re lovely. There are black and white illustrations as well. Most are true to life, but in one fanciful sketch the boy shows off a pig in glasses arranging lettered tiles with a foot to spell the name Mary to a girl his age (presumably the lass).
What’s particularly striking to the modern reader is the farmer’s boys clothes, which looks like a yellow smocked dress with a skirt that falls from chest to just below his knees, pale blue stockings held by bows just below the knees, and flat shoes secured by big blue bows. If it weren’t for his short red hair and the text, I’d have taken him for a girl. The children’s bath scene looks particularly feminine as he dons a white bonnet with lace and a bow and a red tartan apron.
In the final illustration, he is grown and in a more masculine yellow suit with floral waistcoat, but he still has the same blue stockings and bowed shoes. He is gallantly posing, top hat flung out in one hand, the other holding the hand of his pretty lass seated on a bench in a pink dress.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews