Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm

PROS: Appears sturdy for a paperback.The content. It's charming, funny, looks real life in the face and laughs (read someone else's reviews for more details).CONS: It's not titanium. It's paper. I really determined child left to their own devices would indeed be able to destroy it with crayons and scissors. Do Not Let That Happen.SUMMARY: Buy this book. You won't regret it. Ages 3-99.

I purchase this as gifts. Wonderful, educational stories. Beautiful pictures. Highly recommend!

My children (age 6 and 3) love reading about the animals of Maple Hill. Each animal has a distinct personality; some of the descriptions leave us laughing each time. We never get tired of hearing about all of the cats or all the horses. A lovely book to linger on each page.

A gifted this to my nephews after my own daughter fell in love with this book. Definitely an all time favorite for all of the kids!

Best read-aloud ever -- ages 1-6 I'd say. You can read the whole book or just a few pages. Great vocabulary, mature humor that appeals to all ages, educational and entertaining. Easy on the reader, too -- not boring or repetitive. Learn about the farm animals, learn to count, learn some of the unpleasant parts of life (cats eat mice, "it's not a pretty sight"), great for observational skills. I buy it as a 1st-birthday gift for every baby I know. Too bad it's not available in hardcover.

I love this book. Bought it for my daughters after we read Provensen's book about the seasons (Year at Maple Hill Farm), and liked this one even better. Anybody who has ever lived on a farm will be delighted with not just the illustrations, but the descriptions of the animals, from the ornery and stubborn, the arrogant and lazy, to the gentle and charming. Living on 70 acres, we've had many animals, from donkeys, horses, goats, chickens, ducks, cats, rabbits, dogs, turtles, fish, even down to the field mice that keep finding their way into our kitchen, and I felt like we were reading about our life. Animals that obey your every command, never make a mess, and live forever are all very admirable, but hardly realistic. This book is funny, and spot-on real life. I'd especially recommend it for kids who've never been around farm animals. It's quite an eye-opener.

I’m reading this with my 7yo and she loves it! Such a fun book and we use the illustrations as a guide to help her draw her own favorite animals. :)

This book was a beloved favorite of my two children, and me, in the 1970's. I am so glad it is still available, I like to give it as a shower gift to expectant mothers. There is an objective yet loving relationship with the individual animals on the farm, each one has a name and personality description, but they are not cartoons or symbols. Each is appreciated, each has his own flaws and charms: the kind of understanding that comes from long, attentive observation. I love this book because it gives children a sense of connection to farm animals that they would likely not experience first-hand. The living and dying that is the cycle of life, all comes through this laid-back, good-natured catalog of the animals, domestic and wild, that are the "friends" at Maple Hill Farm. The illustrations are superb, they have detail without clutter.

I gave this book to my grandson and his mommy. She and I used to read this when she was little and we love the art work. The story is very clever and the humor is enjoyable for both kids and adults.

This book does not really have a story as such; it is more a commentary about the farm that the author lived on. However it has nice humour as she descibes the characters of the different animals. My 2 year old went through a phase of asking for it night after night as a bed-time read. The illustrations are simple but fun. It is set on an american farm and talks about the wild animals around the farm as well such as raccoons. It does mention a couple of dogs being put down for misbehaviour but handles this in a sensitive way.

A few years from now, we plan on moving from the city to the country, and so in the interim I am trying to teach my children something of farm life. I bought Our Animal Friends and Maple Hill Farm to read with my 4 year-old son. I was not disappointed in this book.The water colour illustrations are not the most attractive I've seen--which is why I gave four stars only--but other than that, the book is a delight. The authors go into great detail describing all the different animals on their farm, explaining their individual quirks and personalities. Reading this book, a child will get the idea that animals, like people, are all unique.My son enjoys reading this book, and to my surprise has already memorized parts of it after only reading it with me a few times. He seems especially fascinated by the page describing the dogs which were accidentally killed or purposely put down for various reasons. I like that the book shows a realistic view of farm life which sometimes includes death. It does not show a romanticized view of friendly animals frolicking together in the green meadow, like you sometimes see in children's books. Those books are nice, too--but I wanted to show my son something of what farm life is really like, and I think this book does this adequately.I would recommend this book for children aged 4-10 who are interested in farm animals or farm life.

Such a lovely book. I've robably bought somewhere between 5-10 copies for everyone I know who is having babies. My son didn't start enjoying this until maybe 2.5 yo.

Leider sind die Bilder im Buch nicht mehr so schön wie auf dem vielversprechendem Cover.