#365PictureBooks 48. Phylys the Farm Truck by Christine Fernyhough & Susan Elijas, photography by John Bougen

Fernyhough, C., & Elijas, S. (2013). Phylys the Farm Truck. Auckland, New Zealand: Random House.

ISBN: 9781775535096
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook / NZ Fiction
Rating: 4 stars

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Meet Phylys.  She's the shiny new farm truck at Castle Hill Station.  Will she be tough enough to get the jobs of a high-country farm done, or will she be to pretty to try?  And how are the animals on the station going to treat her? 

Christine Fernyhough & Susan Elijas have presented us with a humorous rhyming read-aloud about the every-day happenings on a working farm.  The verse reminds me of The Man from Snowy River (Yes I know it's Australian and this is a New Zealand story) but it's rhythm and language just has a 'down home' feel.

Interspersed with the actual verse are rhyming one-liners from the farm animals which add beautifully to the story.

The illustrations remind me of one of those felt boards that we had as a kid.  You could create & re-create your own 'story' by adding felt characters, buildings, vehicles, trees etc to a felt back-board.  Hours and hours and hours of fun was had.

Susan & Sam Elijas have taken John Bougen's photos, and with the use of collage have designed each spread in a way that is eye-catching.  Their humorous depiction of an everyday occurrence in the farming community is brilliant.  

What a great read-aloud with so many fantastic things to spot on each page.  Keep your eyes open for the little pink mouse who can be seen on each page getting up to all sorts of mischief.

I got my copy of Phylys the Farm Truck from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.

Find out more about Christine Fernyhough here.

Check out Graham Beattie's blog post about Phylys the Farm Truck.

#365PictureBooks 8. Dinosaur Farm by Frann Preston-Gannon

Preston-Gannon, F. (2013). Dinosaur Farm. Gosford, Australia: Scholastic.

ISBN: 9781742760766
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 4 stars

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Following on from yesterday's, instructional style, guide book on how to train a train, today's little gem is a a guide to farming. 

Taking care of dinosaurs is hard work.  Actually being a farmer of any kind is hard work (daughter of a farmer blogging!!).  You have to wake up early, make sure the animals are fed, cleaned, cleaned up after, and looked after!  Whew!  And dinosaurs are no different ... just BIGGER.

This beautiful book takes children through the day-to-day routine of being a farmer.  It's told in simple text with one chore per page.  Children can relate to many of these tasks if they have a pet which the help to look after.  
The only indication that this is not a traditional guide book is in the title and the illustrations.

On it's own the text is really instructional and quite basic and monotonous.  Where this book comes into it's own is in the use of the illustrations to accompany the text.  So cleverly done!

Preston-Gannon's illustrations are quite collage-like in effect.  Almost like one of those felt boards that children can add bits to to make up their own picture.  She uses bright, bold colours and the images are simply drawn but very clear in what they depict.  The expressions on the characters faces tells so much of the story, and the way she uses the images as a play on the text is just brilliant. 

There are so many humorous things to see on each page - from the dinosaur 'dog' riding on the tractor, the stegasaurus' chasing after the farmer for their breakfast, having to use a ladder to wash the dirty Brachiosaurus, to finally crawling into bed at night ... with a few extra bed-mates.  ;-) 

Our kids love dinosaur books.  This one will be enjoyed not just for the dinosaurs but for the humorous way Preston-Gannon tells about a chore that so many children can relate to - looking after pets.

I great addition to your collection.  It is a gorgeous book for young children to read and enjoy and will invite discussion with each other and their parents.  A lovely bed-time story.  For teaching purposes it is a good example of how children can take their own story or diary writing and turn it into something fun and interesting.  It's also a good way of showing children that it's not always about what is being said - that their images, previous knowledge or past experiences can cast a different understanding on what they hear.

I got my copy of Dinosaur Farm from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

Woops, I couldn't find a copy at my local library.
Check out other reviews of Dinosaur Farm on Goodreads.