Review by Jbcitygirl -- The Barnyard Buddies Meet a Newc...

[Lorraine De Vos]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Barnyard Buddies Meet a Newcomer" by Julie Penshorn.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Barnyard Buddies Meet a Newcomer by Julie Penshorn is harmonious, emotional and educational. It focusses on tolerance and compassion.

Old Blue is left behind by his family. Other than: “the water turned bad”, the author does not elaborate on why they left or where they went. He ends up wandering alone for a long time. Cold, tired and hungry, he seeks refuge at a farm when he smells food. He meets new animals and appears to be quite scared initially, but they accept him and share their food and barn with him realizing that he needs help. Worried that farmer Jim will be unhappy that he needs to feed another animal, the animals decide to hide him in the back of the barn so he can at least rest somewhere warm and safe for the night. In the middle of the night, he wakes up thirsty, and the story progresses rather quickly from there.

The illustrations are simple, yet detailed and charming. I thoroughly enjoyed the emotive expressions depicted by each animal. I also thought that it was a nice touch that each animal’s talking bubble is in a different color so it is easily distinguishable when they converse.

I am not sure if it was deliberate, but it felt like pages 7 & 26 were slightly empty. Compared to the other pages, they were relatively blank. I think it may have been to convey the loneliness and vulnerability that Old Blue was feeling in those particular moments. That being said, this was the only negative aspect I picked up on in this short 27-page book, and it came down to my personal preference more than anything else. There were no spelling or grammar errors and, no profanity or sexual content, as this is after all a children’s book.

My favorite aspect of this book was the “Parent and Educator Guide” section at the back. It turns the book into an interactive educational tool and allows the children to think about the story and apply it to real-life situations of meeting and being accepting of new people, whilst still being wary of strangers. The “Activities” section allows for roleplaying for children who are more driven by activity learning and the “Definitions for Clarification” section makes it easier for adults to explain certain words to children.

The overall message of empathy, kindness, and peace is something that needs to be carried forward to the next generation, and this book does exactly that in an easy to understand format. I do not doubt that this book deserves a solid rating of 4 out of 4 stars.

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The Barnyard Buddies Meet a Newcomer
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[kdstrack]

This sounds like a lovely book for children to learn about kindness to others. I appreciate the reference to the Parent and Educator Guide at the end of the book. Thanks.

[Julius_]

I've read this book and I like the notes at the end of it. It's a very educative book. Thanks for the review.