About the Holiday

National Farm City Week aims to raise awareness of America’s farmers and ranchers, who “dedicate their lives to promoting our nation’s agricultural abundance and environmental stewardship.” During this week we take the opportunity to support the crucial relationship “between farms and families and work to ensure farming remains an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable way of life for future generations.” It is through the hard work of farmers and their enterprises—both large and small—that the country’s health and well-being are maintained.

Farmblock

Written by Chrisopher Franceschelli | Illustrated by Peskimo

A rooster calls all kids to take a trip to the farm to see all that happens year ‘round in this adorably chunky board book! Little readers will have a blast following a sister and brother—and their dog—as they say good morning to the ducks in the pond, the cows outside the barn, and the chickens who are happy to share their eggs and show off a dozen newly hatched chicks.

Image copyright Peskimo, 2019, text copyright Christopher Franceschelli, 2019. Courtesy of Abrams Appleseed.

Morning greetings give way to morning chores, and the children take buckets of compost “past the old blue tractor” to the pile, where their dog has discovered a perfect place to roll and play. Ewww! A hose and a tub of soapy water cleans him up. Then it’s time to visit the “big red barn” to “help mild the cows, brush the horses, and feed the goats. Even the “mama sow and all her piglets” get their breakfast slop.

Image copyright Peskimo, 2019, text copyright Christopher Franceschelli, 2019. Courtesy of Abrams Appleseed.

On this fall day, the corn and the apples are ready to be harvested. The fresh corn is just right for a picnic, and the apples will make a delicious pie for Grandpa. There are pumpkins in the field for making jack o’ lanterns, and later all the members of the family sit down around the long dinner table to celebrate Thanksgiving.

As the weather turns frosty, Mama chops logs and the kids gather kindling for the woodpile. The “horses in the paddock don’t mind a little snow, but the birds in the forest appreciate the seeds the girl and boy scatter for them. Evening falls and it’s time to “head home to roast marshmallows by the fire.”

Image copyright Peskimo, 2019, text copyright Christopher Franceschelli, 2019. Courtesy of Abrams Appleseed.

The family is happy when spring comes. “Bees buzz in every flower…and the lambs are born.” The animals are excited to be outside in the pasture again. It’s time to get the ground ready for planting “so the plants grow up…and up! And the plants grow down…and down!” The grass grows high in summer, but then it is cut and “rolled into bales to hoist high into the hayloft.” Berry bushes produce plump, juicy berries for jam to sell on farmers market day!

Image copyright Peskimo, 2019, text copyright Christopher Franceschelli, 2019. Courtesy of Abrams Appleseed.

With plenty of surprises and sprightly storytelling, Christopher Franceschelli gives little readers a tour of a farm throughout the year. His straightforward sentences are cheery and sprinkled with words such as compost, harvest, paddock, and hoist that children who are developing their vocabulary will be proud to know. Kids will be excited to see annual events that their familiar with as well as to learn about the crops and the changes for the animals that occur during each season.

Just as in the other block books in the series, Peskimo delights readers with lots of cut-out windows to peek through, gate-fold pages to open out…and out and even up and down. Behind the gate folds await sweet and humorous discoveries that will have little ones giggling and aww-ing. Each page is bright and bold, and smiles abound from the close siblings to their mom, dad and grandpa to the cute animals and their babies. Even the jack o’ lanterns have wide grins. Kids and adults will enjoy pointing out and talking about all of the details of farm life included on every page and especially the antics of the tiny mouse on each spread.

A charmer that will captivate little ones’ imagination, Farmblock is a book that children will want to read again and again. The book makes a terrific gift and addition to home, school, and public libraries.

Ages Baby to 3

Abrams Appleseed, 2019 | ISBN 978-1419738258

You can view a portfolio of artwork by Peskimo on their website.

Farm City Week Activity

Grow a Garden Game

With this fun game you and your family and friends can grow gardens inside! Roll the dice to see whose garden will fully ripen first!

Supplies

• Printable Garden Plot Game Board
• Printable Vegetable Playing Cards: Page 1 | Page 2
• Printable Vegetable Playing Die
• Black or brown crayon (optional)
• Card stock or heavy paper for printing (optional)
• Tape
• Scissors

Directions

Object: The object of the game is for each player to fill their garden rows with vegetables. Depending on the ages of the players, the required winning number of rows to fill and the number of vegetables to “plant” in each row can be adjusted.

1. Print one Game Board for each player
2. Print one set of Playing Cards for each player (for sturdier playing items, print on card stock)
3. Print one Vegetable Playing Die and assemble it (for a sturdier die, print on card stock)
4. Cut the vegetables into their individual playing cards
5. Color the “dirt” on the Garden Plot with the crayon (optional)
6. Choose a player to go first
7. The player rolls the die and then “plants” the facing vegetable in a row on the game board
8. Play moves to the person on the right
9. Players continue rolling the die and “planting” vegetables until each of the number of determined rows have been filled with the determined number of vegetables.
10. The first person to “grow” all of their veggies wins!

You can find Farmblock at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

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