From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-An attractive, fact-filled title that describes what one is likely to find at a country fair in New England. Some readers might find it similar to state fairs in other parts of the country. Busy, brightly colored illustrations fill each page. The style and palette are typically Gibbons, though in this book the pictures are a bit more primitive, and they're sometimes overpowered by the heavy geometric borders. Two-to-four sentences describe each picture, giving just enough information to satisfy youngsters. (There's one error: reference is made to a horse-and-buggy race when the illustration definitely shows a sulky race.) The book concludes with a description of the planning of and preparations for a fair and a brief overview of their history from ancient times to the present. It's almost as much fun as being there.
Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KSCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ages 4-6. It's country-fair time, and Gibbons chronicles in words and pictures what goes on at those annual events. There's a midway, rides, lots of food, and blue ribbons for everything from quilts to calves to pumpkins, At night, there are fireworks and fiddling. The colorful pictures, one or two to a page, are done in Gibbons' signature style (although not as precisely drawn as in some of her books), and they fill up the pages. Appended is a history of fairs and information about planning a fair. An attractive purchase for larger libraries or where country fairs are popular.
Ilene Cooper
