Old MacDonald Had a Farm [Paperback]

Carol Jones (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1998 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Look through the peep-hole on each page of this colorful book and watch Old MacDonald as he goes about his chores. Can you guess what animal is to come? A delightful, engaging twist on a traditional song gives it new life for a new generation.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1 --Yet another example of the English school of illustration: solid craftsmanship, attention to all sorts of details, low-key humor. This text does not accumulate the farm animal sounds. Rather, each left-hand page is a fully developed scene of a kindly white-bearded farmer in some part of his modest farm with all the animals as they are mentioned. On the right are the three repeated lines about Old MacDonald having a. . . . In the middle of this page is a hole, two inches in diameter, exposing a part of the next animal in the picture on the following page. The picture, when fully exposed by turning the page, is equally detailed, and the hole frames the farmer's face from the previous picture--a consistently neat piece of design. Jones' approach is naturalistic with a soft overlay of humor: this is a happy farm. Her fine black inked lines structure a benign world that is as peaceable a kingdom as one could wish, an animated rather than static one. The transparent watercolors create a lush, late-summer bucolic comfortable rightness where all the animals, birds, frogs, insects, rodents, and man live in peace. If this is indeed nostalgia (no TV, electric wires, or even any machines), it is symbolic also of a better symbiotic relationship among nature's creatures than we now experience. --Kenneth Marantz, Art Education Department, Ohio State University, Columbus
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Ms. Jones's meticulous pen-and-watercolor paintings are brimful of accurate, loving observation." The New York Times

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (March 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395901251
• ISBN-13: 978-0395901250
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 10 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Art & Clever Picture Holes in this classic tale, June 29, 2006

By 

J. Ellis "alchemist405" (Eastern WA state) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Old MacDonald Had a Farm (Paperback)

This book has amazing drawings in it. Carol Jones is very talented. I rarely write reviews for books but this one has definitely impressed me. Not only are the pictures breathtaking, but many of the pages have a circular hole cut out of the middle so you get a peek at the next animal coming up in the tale, and when you look back at the previous page from the other side, you see Old MacDonald. This is truly a gem of a book. My highest praises to the illustrator!

5.0 out of 5 stars My daughters loved it!, March 27, 2002

By 

DJMunson (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Old MacDonald Had a Farm (Paperback)

My daughters loved it they go around asking for their E-I-E-I-O book all day long. They even ask to take it to bed. Many fights have been waged between my twins over who will get the honors.

I like the little windows on the pages which give a little away, but not too much, of the animal that is on the farm. Nicely illustrated!

5.0 out of 5 stars My son loved the detail in this book!, February 24, 2001

By 

C. Stiles "Design-Book-a-holic" (Delaware) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Old MacDonald Had a Farm (Paperback)

A simple premise for a book...a familiar nursery rhyme song, but Carol Jones has given it a new life with her strikingly detailed illustrations. My son (4) really loves discovering the minute touches she added...a great book to sit and look through together. Definitely one we'll keep!