Your Farm

Starred review from December 15, 2024
Klassen opens the door to imagination within the strict parameters of a little world. Right from the start, this book places young readers directly at the center of its universe. "This is your sun. It is coming up for you." Next, little ones meet each element of the farm. Each is punctuated with a clear message that it's the sole property of the reader, along with instructions on where to place it. "This is your tree. It can go under the sun." The objects all have eyes that stare out, making the audience the clear focus of the narrative. (This is not to say that the eyes don't move; the barn, for example, looks over at the tree.) Then, once all the objects are in place (sun, tree, barn, horse, hay, truck, stool, and fence), the sun starts to sink, and every eye grows lidded and sleepy. By the end, readers are reassured that since it's bedtime, they "can sleep too and think about what [they] will do there tomorrow." While the narrator may have all the power of placement, once more it's young readers who are reminded that their choices are the ones that truly count--a refreshing message, and one that kids can't hear often enough. A simultaneously empowering and instructive bedtime tale.(Board book. 2-4)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2025
[star] Your Forest by Jon Klassen; illus. by the author Preschool Candlewick 24 pp. 2/25 978-1-5362-3083-3 $8.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5362-4243-0 $8.99 [star] Your Island by Jon Klassen; illus. by the author Preschool Candlewick 24 pp. 2/25 978-1-5362-3081-9 $8.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5362-4245-4 $8.99 "This is your sun. It is coming up for you." Thus begins each of three original board books, accompanied by an image of the sun peeking up over an implied horizon line. Subsequent spreads introduce, one by one, other characteristic features you'd find on a Farm (barn, horse), in a Forest (cabin, stream), or on an Island (palm tree, boat) and add them to the scenes. "These are your plants. They can go on the ground." The basic-shaped objects accumulate on mainly white backgrounds; once the settings are fully created, the day concludes, and each book ends with the line: "Now you can sleep too and think about what you will do there tomorrow." A simple premise, but with subtle depth cleverly provided by Klassen. His minimalist style is on full display, from the brief, straightforward texts ("Here is your truck. It is a good truck. It can go in the barn too") to the sparsely populated pages. Of course, Klassen also infuses life and character into each object in the ink and graphite illustrations by giving them expressive eyes, which close at night when the farm, forest, and island go to sleep. Additional imaginative elements include a ghost in Forest and a magical fire that never goes out in Island. The whole process mimics and encourages a toddler's drawing activity, adding things to negative space to create art that tells a child-friendly story. In short, Klassen has crafted three unassuming master classes in picture-book making for the youngest listeners/viewers. Cynthia K. Ritter

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2025
"This is your sun. It is coming up for you." Thus begins each of three original board books, accompanied by an image of the sun peeking up over an implied horizon line. Subsequent spreads introduce, one by one, other characteristic features you'd find on a Farm (barn, horse), in a Forest (cabin, stream), or on an Island (palm tree, boat) and add them to the scenes. "These are your plants. They can go on the ground." The basic-shaped objects accumulate on mainly white backgrounds; once the settings are fully created, the day concludes, and each book ends with the line: "Now you can sleep too and think about what you will do there tomorrow." A simple premise, but with subtle depth cleverly provided by Klassen. His minimalist style is on full display, from the brief, straightforward texts ("Here is your truck. It is a good truck. It can go in the barn too") to the sparsely populated pages. Of course, Klassen also infuses life and character into each object in the ink and graphite illustrations by giving them expressive eyes, which close at night when the farm, forest, and island go to sleep. Additional imaginative elements include a ghost in Forest and a magical fire that never goes out in Island. The whole process mimics and encourages a toddler's drawing activity, adding things to negative space to create art that tells a child-friendly story. In short, Klassen has crafted three unassuming master classes in picture-book making for the youngest listeners/viewers.

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)