Beyond the Barnyard, Into the Wild - Post Titles and Thoughts Please

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Are barnyard animals cliched? Well, I think they are. I'm tired of picture books of cows and chickens. And bunnies and dogs and cats for that matter. I don't know if family farms even exist anymore.

Is there a good reason to keep using these critters, or is it that they're 'safe?' I like Australian books with wombats, and books like Lousy Rotten Stinkin' Grapes with woodland animals.

I think I've noticed a bit more diversity in 'Early Reader' books. I look forward to reading The Wind in the Willows but that's of course older and not a picture book (though I understand that there are picture book adaptations of it.)

Anyway, what do you think? Do we have enough cows yet?

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Fair enough.

It just seems that when I run across a picture book that's not set in a farmyard, it's noteworthy for being unusual. And even though we don't eat heron eggs or drink bison milk, I think those animals have a place in our real world and in our children's books, too.

I think we used to be more in touch with other animals, thinking of the Frog & Toad books, and the badger family in Bread and Jam for Frances, and the series by Thornton Burgess.

[Michele]

Children love animals. I have more books about animals than anything else in my library and there is never enough. They are particularly fond of either the really scary ones--sharks and scorpians--or the really cuddly ones--puppies and hamsters.

I think kids simply more likely to recognize barnyard animals and pets . They are everywhere in the media so it doesn't matter if you have a family farm or not--kids know what a a horse is and what it is supposed to do.

[Jenny]

And actually there is a growing movement, it seems, of "backyard farming." Families who don't live on the typical farm...just a house with a little extra property that raise chickens, goats, and perhaps a few other animals. I have several neighbors that live right here in the city that have chickens, bunnies, and goats. There are also some older homes nearby that have horse properties...but that is a little different.

On the other hand, I do have students at my school who have never seen a real live cow or horse. So it can go both ways.
I like to see other animals in books...but I don't mind the farm animals and common pets. I guess, for me, it comes down to the story. Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type and the other related books by Doreen Cronin are absolute hits with my second (and in the past third) graders. I love them too.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Yes I'm a fan of Cronin, too. Farm animals and common pets certainly have their appeal. I guess I just want more diversity - just as I want more diverse gender roles and ethnic diversity, too. :)

If anybody has any recommendations for newer (than Burgess) stories featuring woodland or exotic animals I'd be grateful to see you post them here.

[David]

With the lack of experience of so many children about where their food comes from, and the disappearance of so many family farms, I think books with farm animals are certainly needed today. My parent's family farm is a housing development (don't get me started on that!). Mentioning backyard farming is also a very good point.

While many picture books with farm animals aren't always realistic, I think they need to be around. I also love funny books and the Cronin books, and Minnie and Moo books are just very funny too!

Interest in pet books seems pretty universal to me.

As far as woodland animals or wild animals go, I've always enjoyed books by Jim Arnosky. I agree books about different animals are fun too: I'm thinking of Stellaluna as one example.

[Jenny]

Mex Fox has several books featuring Australian animals, such as Koala Lou and Wombat Divine.

Here are a few others I've found Panda-Monium! as well as Zen Shorts and the other Muth books feature pandas.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and many of Bill Martin's other books feature animals...some of which are kind of fantastic and some which are really based on the real animal.

I'm sure there are many others. I'll keep thinking. I do see your point though. Cows, chickens, and such are very popular "characters" in books...both realistic books and more fantasy type books. It would be nice for kids to be exposed to other animals.

As for nonfiction, I really like What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? and many other books by Steve Jenkins. He gives very interesting facts about a wide variety of animals in his books. My second graders really loved reading his books this year. Another author that I want to read more nonfiction by is Nic Bishop. My 3 girls and I really enjoyed his Nic Bishop: Lizards, especially the amazing photography. I'd like to read some of his other nonfiction. It was a book we read in 3 or so sittings...fairly dense for picture books...but very interesting.

[Jonathan]

And I can't imagine banning Charlotte's Web because it takes place on a farm!

[Emily]

No one ever suggested banning any book set on a farm!

Cheryl, having spent a lot of the last few years in the picture book section of the library with my two young sons, I completely understand where you're coming from. Books about animals on farms really are ubiquitous. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, and many wonderful books are set on farms, but once you start to notice this trend, it's hard to stop noticing.

I am dubious about the idea that books about farm animals keep children in touch with the food they eat. I never particularly noticed that with my boys! Also, as I think at least one person noted above, the idealized picture of happy animals in bucolic surroundings could not be further removed from the actual reality of where 99% of the meat we eat comes from. One of the things that makes Charlotte's Web (not a picture book of course) such a deep and moving book is that it acknowledges the reality that most farm animals are eaten.

Still, another reality is children like farm animals! My oldest is particularly drawn to books about sheep (because he's a big fan of the Shaun the Sheep cartoons). So the farm picture books will keep being published, and some of them will be good and some less so. It's just a genre that's not particularly realistic, like some of the genres grown ups read, such as murder mysteries with amateur sleuths who can't travel anywhere without stumbling over body!

[Jonathan]

Emily, I like your summation: "a genre that's not particularly realistic, like some genres grown ups read..." That's how I think of it too.

I think discussing such books with children as a reflection of the past is a great way to begin developing their sense of time and place.

Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall describes a farm life so removed from most of our lives. I love reading it with children. No computers. No TVs. I've seen it literally leave classes stunned.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I love all these suggestions, including non-fiction, historical fiction, and stories for older children. After all, some of our classics are of woodland animals, like The Yearling or Bambi, and (by E.B. White, the author of Charlotte's Web) The Trumpet of the Swan.

And I'm not even close to suggesting we stop writing about barnyard animals and common pets, much less banning Charlotte's Web. I have lots of books about chickens and cows on my to-read shelves, after all. I'd just like to see more books like Stellaluna and the Australian ones by Mem Fox.

I particularly am glad we're exploring the idea of 'where our food comes from.' A marvelous picture-book I discovered last year addresses that very issue and I heartily recommend it: Henrietta and the Golden Eggs. You might want to read it yourself before sharing it with your children though as it is *not* bucolic. (Not that it's graphic or likely to be traumatizing; don't be afraid of it. :)

Interestingly, as I was looking up that title, I discovered that Hanna Johansen has written other books, including one with woodland animals as the protagonists: The Duck and the Owl.

I hope as we remember more examples we remember to come back and add them to this list. In case any of you haven't realized, a list of authors and titles is generated on the right side of the page every time a comment links to them. :)

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

At first, I thought you might mean that the farm animals themselves are cliched, like chickens are portrayed one way, cows another, etc. I guess that is more stereotyping, though (and I do think some of that goes on). So, as for the cliched aspect...

Like Chandra, I'm not really a fan of the romanticized view of farm life portrayed in most forms of entertainment. On the other hand, I understand how children love animals and I think farm animals are kind of fun to read about because they aren't really pets for most children, so there is a little bit of excitement about them, yet many children do get to see them sometimes when they are out and about, which makes them seem more real and easy to relate to, whereas the more exotic animals they can see only in zoos if they are lucky enough to get to visit one.

That said, I always loved reading about a wide variety of animals (and, heck, even dinosaurs! so it's not like I had to see the animal to like reading about it) and I know I have read several great picture books with non-farm animals/pets in them. Here are a few suggestions:

Mister Seahorse

A Story for Bear

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors

Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out!

Flip, Flap, Fly!: A Book for Babies Everywhere

How Do You Hug a Porcupine?

Over and Under the Snow

One Cool Friend

The Water Hole

Meerkat Mail

The Littlest Owl

Pinduli



Moon Bear

My Heart Is Like a Zoo

Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City

Babies in the Bayou

Into The A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet Book

Augustus and His Smile

Animals Everywhere

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl, since the discussion has evolved a bit, would you mind if we adapt the title of the thread to say something like "Are barnyard animals cliched? Building a book list with a variety of animals" or something like that? That way, we might get more people interested and posting with suggestions or who are also looking for books featuring non-farm animals?

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Thanks Kathryn for the titles and for the suggestion to fix the thread title. I think I'm conveying the message I intend now, that will also keep this thread relevant to others. I'm mainly concerned with picture books, but non-fiction and chapter book recommendations and references are welcome too!

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I do like the thought that the animals themselves might be cliched. It's common in woodland animals to see foxes as sly, owls as wise, etc... I'll have to think on cows, chickens, etc.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Thanks Kathryn for the titles and for the suggestion to fix the thread title. I think I'm conveying the message I intend now, that will also keep this thread relevant to others. I'm mainly concern..."

Yes, I love the now title. Thanks :-)

[Julie]

My kids are past picture books now so I don't get to read them much anymore, but there are some lovely New Zealand picture books which have quite different creatures (all birds or insects as we don't have any native mammals except a bat). Unfortunately you may not be able to get them in other countries. I'll include a few titles just in case you can. There is a picture book version of The Whale Rider (which was made into a movie and I think made it to the US), Old Hu-hu by Kyle Mewburn (about a huhu grub), A Booming in the Night by Ben Brown (about the kakapo, a flightless, nocturnal parrot), and The Kuia and the Spider by Patricia Grace.

[Jenny]

Together Forever is about a mother polar bear and baby polar bear. The mom teaches the baby how to find his way home if he gets lost by looking at Ursa Minor.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Julie wrote: "My kids are past picture books now so I don't get to read them much anymore, but there are some lovely New Zealand picture books which have quite different creatures (all birds or insects as we don..."

Oh, I loved the film "Whale Rider"! Do you remember who wrote the picture book? Is it the one you linked to? Is it a longer book, with illustrations? Thanks :-)

[Jenny]

I just read How Do You Hug a Porcupine?. It includes both farm animals and some others (kangaroo, dolphin, panda, elephant, skunk, etc.) You can probably guess that you have to hug a porcupine very carefully. This is a cute rhyming book with colorful, fun illustrations. Of course, you would probably need to explain to young children that you should never ACTUALLY hug any wild animal...or even someone else's pet without their permission...these safety issues aren't addressed at all...but it is a cute, fun story if the child is clear that it is fiction.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Huh, I lost notifications for this thread. But I'm back now, with a book I just read and loved that definitely fits the 'core' of this theme. From the publisher Barefoot Books, with terrific sewn-fabric illustrations, a peek-a-boo motif, and good science... Elusive Moose (Hide-And-Seek Books. Especially recommended, imo, for ages 3-6, and could work in story-time or lap-sit.

Abigail, the focus of my quest is fiction picture-books or easy-readers, but all vetted rec's are welcome!

Jenny, I will def. investigate the Porcupine book - but too bad the author didn't give the safety advice herself.

[Raevyn]

For older (upper-middle-grade) readers, there are the Seekers and Warriors series by Erin Hunter--about bears and cats, respectively. :)

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

That's true, thanks.