3 out of 4 stars
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Christina Taber’s book Do You Ever Wonder What Happens in the Barnyard at Night? is a fun and lighthearted story that any child with a big imagination will enjoy. As one might guess from the title, the story begins with a silly question—just what happen in the barnyard after all the humans go to bed? It's a question that takes readers on a wild, silly journey. Kids will get to stretch their creative muscles while imagining what might happen in a barnyard at night. Do the pigs and the mice have secret hobbies? Do the horses organize a dance? Thanks to the talented illustrator, Amanda Wentz, these fantasies come to life before our eyes.
At the book's beginning, we meet the narrator (a little brown-haired girl with a side braid) as she peers out her window at the barnyard. We catch a glimpse of the animals—horses, cows, pigs, chickens, ducks—serenely sleeping under the moonlight. Then, as the narrator's childish imagination starts to take over, each page of illustrations escalate with wild fun. “Do the pigs play checkers while the mice fly kites?” wonders the narrator. Readers are treated to a fun depiction of five pigs playing checkers and tic-tac-toe while a cow watches from the background with a grin on his face. A little later, the narrator wonders whether the animals get together for a go-cart race. We see screaming chickens and bleating goats, speeding their way downhill in apple carts as the stars shine overhead.
With a total of 26 pages, Do You Ever Wonder What Happens in the Barnyard at Night? is a short read. It would be the perfect book for young kids who have short attention spans. The book is colorfully illustrated. There’s even a hide-and-seek game on each page as a nice side bonus for little ones who might otherwise be easily distracted. Kids can follow Eliza, a little white mouse, as she scampers through the barnyard at night to see just what those funny farmyard animals are up to. It turns out that the barnyard is not as calm and quiet a place as it may seem!
I enjoyed this book. The illustrations in particular were entertaining and well done. Still, I was left hoping for a bit more. I wanted to know more about the little girl who narrates the story, and it would have been nice if the animals had gotten themselves into a scrape. As it was, the book had little in the way of plot or a climax. Also, there were a couple grammatical errors. On page nine, the text reads “bubble batch” when it should say “bubble bath”. A bit later, there’s a misplaced exclamation mark. Besides these spelling and grammar errors, the book seemed to be professionally edited, and the illustrations were remarkably done.
In sum, Do You Ever Wonder What Happens in the Barnyard at Night? was a entertaining read. I’m giving it 3 out of 4 stars. I debated giving it 4 stars but ultimately decided against it. Although there were only a couple errors, this still seemed like too many in a book of this length. Still, I think this book would make a wonderful gift for any child or adult with a big imagination!
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Do You Ever Wonder What Happens in the Barnyard at Night?
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In a children's book, that seems like an even bigger deal, and hopefully they will be able to fix them!
