Review by Booklist Review
This exuberant companion to Hillenbrand's Down by the Station (2002) will garner as many fans as the first. A doggy farmer hooks two hay-filled wagons to his tractor and goes about collecting the young animals on his farm. A scarecrow, carrying a bright-red book, and a skunk jump on the last wagon and how the scarecrow uses the book creates a delightful and satisfactory ending to the engaging story. The new words work relatively well with the song's rhyming scheme, and the name of each youngster is included in the verses: calf, piglet, gosling, and kid, for example. There is much to keep children entertained, in addition to the large, bright mixed-media illustrations. For example, the refrain adds each animal's sound in a cumulative manner: Puff, puff, clink, clank at the start soon includes moo, moo, peep, peep, wee, wee, etc. Sharp-eyed children will be able to predict which animal will be next to jump on the wagon train, and a fox can be found skulking on almost every page. Fun!--Owen, Maryann Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Fifteen years after his Down by the Station, Hillenbrand offers a cheerful companion book that transplants the familiar nursery rhyme to a rural setting. There's still a train of sorts involved-it's a tractor piloted by a farmer dog with a pair of wagons serving as train cars. A scarecrow with a wide smile is the first to board, and he's quickly followed by various baby animals who clamber aboard, adding cumulative sound effects to the end of each verse ("Puff, Puff,/ click, clank,/ moo, moo,/ OFF WE GO!"). The one-syllable animal names that are swapped in for the word "station" aren't quite as melodious to sing aloud ("Down by the goats/ early in the morning"), but Hillenbrand's smudgy-edged mixed-media artwork offers plenty of diversions, including a tense moment when a fox pounces at a yellow chick that has wandered off. The fox situation is handled with a well-aimed bucket to the head, and the story ends on a peaceful note, with the scarecrow leading story time for a group of young humans and animals. Ages 3-5. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Fans of Hillenbrand's Down by the Station (Houghton Harcourt, 2002), in which young zoo animals board a train, will appreciate this companion title. In this cheerful story, young animals riding in carts behind a tractor meet up with a group of children disembarking from a school bus for storytime on the farm. The simple yet comforting text contains repetitive phrases, such as "See the tractor driver pull his little lever..." and invites youngsters to join the reader in making the ever-lengthening sounds of the passengers as they board the tractor ("Puff, Puff, click, clank, moo, moo, peep, peep, OFF WE GO!"). The story even contains a moment of dramatic tension when a fox, which has been watching the animals on every page, leaps out to grab a chick. He is put in his place and ends up listening to storytime with the other animals and children. The bright and cheerful illustrations feature a cast of endearing animals and lots of humorous details. The exuberant art, combined with the pattern and repetition in the text, makes this a perfect read aloud.-Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, Hillsborough, CA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this cumulative tale, a tractor-driving pup circles the farmyard to pick up young animals, eventually bringing them to a storytime gathering. The animal and machinery onomatopoeia help the text chug along, and the jovial mixed-media art keeps the story from becoming stale. Fans of Hillenbrand's companion book, Down by the Station, will appreciate his latest. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
