About the Holiday
You may have seen the statement “No Farms, No Food” on T-shirts, bumper stickers, online, and other places. It’s true! Without farmers dedicating their lives, day in and day out to grow the crops and animals we depend on for nourishment and survival, where would we be? National Farmers Day events have taken place across the country since the 1800s. Today, events are held on different dates in towns throughout the US during the fall. Farmers are also celebrated around the world during various countries’ harvest months. You can honor hardworking farmers today, this fall, and throughout the year by thanking a farmer, visiting farm markets or farm stores in your area, attending a state or local fair near you to learn more about your local farms and farmers, and making a trip to a working farm or a historical reenactment attraction that provides educational programs about this crucial contribution to our lives.
Thanks to Nosy Crow for sending me this book for review!
Fold-Out + Play: Farm
By Ingela P. Arrhenius
What child can resist the delight of acting out their imagination with hands-on play? In her brilliant fold-out and free-standing farm-in-a-book, Ingela P. Arrhenius invites just that with charming verses that entice excitement and exploration. The green hills beckon: “Through the fields / and off we go. / Cows and sheep— / let’s say hello!” while in the barn, kids find “It’s warm and / cozy in the hay. / This is where / the animals stay.”
Then with a simple tug on a ribbon, a drawer, incorporated into this book’s ingenious design, slides out to reveal sturdy cardboard cards of figures that are easily assembled with legs or tabs that allow them to stand freely on their own. The cheerful family— including Mom, Dad, Sister, and Brother, and, of course, their cat and dog—is ready to work and play. Mom and Dad can even hold items, such as the basket, buckets, and the watering can. As each card is pulled from the drawer, children’s smiles will grow wider as they find a horse and foal, cow and calf, ducks, sheep and lambs, a pig and piglet, a donkey, a goat and kid, a hen hatching eggs and her with her chicks, and a turkey. There’s even a scarecrow to smile at the birds!
How do the farm chores get done? Kids will love building and moving the large 3D tractor, animal pen, feeding trough, and wheelbarrow just waiting to be filled. Now, it’s time to discover the play area! The book opens wide and folds down to create four thoughtfully and lovingly created stages. Young farmers find themselves amid vibrant fields bursting with fruit and vegetables ready to harvest, as well as flowers, trees, a pond, a henhouse, and more outdoor features to explore. Inside the cleverly conceived barn, a goat enjoys lunch while a mouse, goose, and rooster say hello, and a window opens to reveal animals having fun outside. Two pages of stickers are also included to allow kids to personalize their settings.
With their props set and the seeds of infinite stories sown, children will enthusiastically devise scenarios for this farming family and their animals!
Interacting with her adorable farm, it’s easy to see how much care, love, and respect for children Ingela P. Arrhenius put into every aspect of her well-developed farm, from the reflective sheen on the pond to the double-gated door, to details like the hose curled on the grass waiting to be used. The superbly engineered tractor, wheelbarrow, pen, and trough as well as the sweet-faced animals and welcoming characters offer endless options for play.
Fold-Out + Play: Farm makes an inspired gift for any child for independent play as well as shared playtime between older and younger siblings or an adult and child. This book would make a fantastic take-along for babysitters and for gentle imaginative creative time in preschool and kindergarten classrooms as well as for daycare centers.
Ages 3 – 8
Nosy Crow, 2026 | ISBN 979-8887772905
About the Author
Ingela P. Arrhenius graduated from art school in the early 90s and has been working as an illustrator ever since. At first, she worked in advertising and magazines, but her focus over the past ten years has been on products and books. Ingela has created patterns for fabrics, wallpaper and stationery, as well as packaging and home accessories. She has also collaborated with several toy producers around the world and her love of retro style, typography and colour is reflected in all her work. Ingela lives in Stockholm with her husband (an author) and two sons. Visit her at ingelaparrhenius.com.
National Farmer’s Day Activity
Grow a Vegetable Garden Board 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.
- Print one Game Board for each player
- Print one set of Playing Cards for each player (for sturdier playing items, print on card stock)
- Print one Vegetable Playing Die and assemble it (for a sturdier die, print on card stock)
- Cut the vegetables into their individual playing cards
- Color the “dirt” on the Garden Plot with the crayon (optional)
- Choose a player to go first
- The player rolls the die and then “plants” the facing vegetable in a row on the game board
- Play moves to the person on the right
- 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.
- The first person to “grow” all of their veggies wins!
You can purchase Fold-Out + Play: Farm from these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Picture Book Review
