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Title: Our Animal Friends At Maple Hill Farm
ISBN: 0689844999
Author:
Alice Provensen
Martin Provensen
Publicate Date: 2001-12-01
Publish: 2001-12-01
List Price: $7.99
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $4.24
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $4.00
Amazon Merchant Price: $7.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A charming but unsentimental view of animals on a farm
This is a charming but unsentimental view of animals on Maple Hill Farm. Through wonderful drawings and brief text, animals are portrayed as individual personalities, each with a role to play in farm life through the cycles of life from birth to death. One of my favorite characters is Willow, the cat, who "is not very interesting" because she spends all her time just being beautiful. It is a valuable book for teaching young children that animals should be cherished and cared for for many reasons, that animals are deeply entwined in our lives. It is a deceptively simple book that children and adults can enjoy together and discuss on many levels.
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2: Maple Hill Farm Keeps It Real!
Quite a bit has changed about the world we live in, but it's wonderful to know that our friends at Maple Hill Farm are still keeping it real. This was one of my favorite books as a child and I can't wait to read it to my son (due in January.) I just ordered a new copy of this book and was so pleased to read it again and realize how fun it is to read as an adult. I love that there's no quest, no competition, no major challenges- it's just life on a farm with lots of real animals that have unique personalities.
It's exciting because all of animals are fun and goofy and they do all the usual things that chickens, goats, cats, horses, dogs and sheep do. The cats catch snakes and move kittens around, the horses get dirty and chase each other, the chickens eat ants and take sun baths, the dogs bark at geese and chew up pillows. None of them wear clothes, talk or drive cars, and I kind of find it refreshing. Not that there's anything wrong with fantasy, but I love that reality can be just as entertaining for kids and adults.
And, yeah, I did start crying when I got to the end- the quiet corner of the woods where the animals of the past were buried. It's not maudlin or overtly tugging on your heartstrings- it's just real. That's what makes this book such a great read.
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3: Our family favorite
My mom saved the original book for me, and we purchased a new copy (paperback) only after our suitcase containing the original hardback was stolen (!) Our girls (ages 3 and 7) adore this book - and so do we.
The book tells about the different animals on the farm. Over several pages, for example, Mrs. Provensen tell about the four cats who live at Maple Hill farm: Gooseberry, who is a good mother; Eggnog, who is beautiful but not interresting; Willow, who is old; and Max, who is big, likes cottage cheese, but is not very clever with his claws. In a series of drawings, we see what the cats do around the farm. The girls love it - they laugh and giggle and listen intently.
The dogs, horses, sheep, and chickens all get similar treatment. We give this book to friends, as it is off the mainstream 'radar' of good books: we are sure they won't have it, and we are sure their kids will love it as our do.
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4: simple pleasures
my kids love this book and the other in the series. the illustrations are true and simple-just what today's kids need. i would recommend it to any family who has an appreciation or is part of a more meaningful, homegrown lifestyle.
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5: I LOVE THIS BOOK!
I remember the very first time I read this book...over 30 years ago. I had my infant son sitting on my lap and we were both delighted by the different animals from the farm. I remember going from laughing to holding back tears. It is so true. Our own animal friends have the same affect...from laughter to tears.
Besides being very entertaining, I find a bit of widsom there that is priceless for dealing with the loss of a pet. It has become a tradition over the years to read from the book at our "pet funerals" and I took the book down from the shelf just for myself after the recent loss of a 16 year old cat.
Like many others here, we've worn out our original copy. Mom made sure each grandchild had a copy in their homes and I've done the same with my own grandchildren. We loved it so much, we've had many pets named after the characters in the book.
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