3 out of 4 stars
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Everyone is always searching for a special place. This is a place where you can go to find comfort and love. For many animals, this place is the farm of Farmer Beau. In Kathleen Geiger’s Farmer Beau’s Farm, we are introduced to Farmer Beau and his wife, Bamma. The two of them are hard at work on the farm until they spot a litter of kittens playing together. The couple becomes sad when all the kittens leave the farm, except for one, Kailey. Farmer Beau and Bamma welcomes Kailey into their home and gives her a special place to live."They realized that this was the beginning of a long friendship. Yes, Farmer Beau's farm was magical!" -Kathleen Geiger, Farmer Beau's Farm
On the farm, Kailey meets another small animal, a bunny named Sammy. Kailey welcomes Sammy to the farm when she discovers that Sammy doesn’t have a home. The two become fast friends as they enjoy their special homes with Farmer Beau and his wife. Time passes and the farm receives a new arrival, an animal who is quite unusual to have on a farm. When Kailey and Sammy meets the new addition, they’re not sure if their special place should be a special place to just anyone.
The cover of the book evokes warm emotions as readers see the image of smiling animals. The illustrations, while not the best quality, were still colorful and contributed to the plot. The plot was very well written and the language is simple enough that children and adults could read this together or a child could even read it alone. I also noted that even though the book is for children, it could also be an insightful read for adults because of the lessons given. The length of the book was short, but it was filled with many positive lessons.
The lessons that were given in the book is the reason I would recommend it to parents and children. The book teaches a lesson on acceptance as we see Kailey and Sammy’s hesitance to accept a new animal because of physical differences. It teaches readers that despite differences, everyone can still become friends. The book addresses bullying, but does it in a simple manner so that young children can comprehend it. It teaches us that words can hurt people’s feelings so you should be careful of what you say.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the illustrations, but they served the point and complemented the plot well. The negative that I will mention is that the illustrations and the words were on separate pages. In children’s books, illustrations should be placed on the same page as the words. This makes it easier for children to follow along instead of flipping back and forth between the pictures and the story. I’m hoping this is not the case in the physical version of the book. Since I was reading the digital version that had the illustrations separate from the text, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Apart from that small negative, this was a great book that adults and children should read together and discuss. This book would be a wonderful addition to a young child’s bookshelf.
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Farmer Beau's Farm
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I love the quote that included in your review! It summarizes one of the lessons of the book nicely. I actually like the illustrations. I thought they were fun and cute. On the Kindle version, they are definitely on separate pages, but I was kind of happy about this because some of paragraphs were rather long. For me, if the pictures and words on the same pages, it might have been too much for a Kindle version. 
