Farmer Joe and the Music Show: Tony Mitton

Farmer Joe and the Music Show

by Tony Mitton (author), Guy Parker-Rees (illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Orchard Books (April 15, 2009)

What to expect: Rhyme, Music, Animals, Farm Animals

Rip-roaring, toe-tapping, back-slapping, plain old fun — I love this book from start to finish. Farmer Joe is having a hard time on the farm. Hens won’t lay, cows won’t graze, and pigs won’t feed. However, with a little creative thinking, or a bright idea as it may be, Farmer Joe brings life back into the farm with music. The good old fashioned kind of music that will have you singing your way through the book and waiting for any chance to yell out a big “yee-har!”

Tony Mitton is a brilliant author who certainly has raw talent for rhyme. The words practically bounce off the page. And almost every page provides fun sounds that will have any story time crowd joining in with the reader. Guy Parker-Rees has created energetic illustrations that keep up perfectly with the up-beat rhythm of the text. One of my favorite picture books of ’09, Farmer Joe and the Music Show is a party-in-a-book!