The Year At Maple Hill Farm

This is a book about farm animals, and what happens during one year on a farm.

In January, the cows stay in the barnyard, and the chickens don't lay many eggs. By March, you can tell spring is coming: the barn is filled with baby animals. Month by month, the animals at Maple Hill Farm sense the changing seasons and respond to the changes.

Through gently humorous text and charming illustrations, Alice and Martin Provensen capture one year at their beloved Maple Hill Farm in a way sure to delight city slickers and country folk alike.

Humans and animals co-exist peacefully here. The illustrations are simple and gently colored, with subtle detail sprinkled throughout. The animals are given a great deal of personality (see especially the cats, who are wonderfully quirky) and the story itself, while utterly basic and free of frills, has an undertow of narrative propulsion that makes each page seem a natural outgrowth of the previous page.

I can't recommend the book highly enough. If you live in the country, you will recognize so much of what is here. If you live in the city, you will welcome the peaceful rhythms of this charming book.


This book is a must have for every child   September 21, 2006
LindaCrev (Chicagoish)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I just bought this book for a gift, and seeing it on Amazon's website makes me want to go find it on my daughter's bookshelf, and read it myself. And I'm 43!

What a sweet, beautiful, educational, pleasure of a book. It's a great size with gorgeous illustrations. The text is fun to read and fun for a child to listen to, and the whole book is non-fiction and very educational. The perfect combination of a book. I just love it and love to give it! It just bounces and is very engaging. You'll want to read it every season for years.

Enjoy!


I wish they'd re-issue this one in hardcover!!! It's a classic!   November 9, 2008
Nosewiper (Sterling Heights, MI United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I love this book, along with "Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm."

In this factory-farm era, it's a great look into farm life the way it used to be, and for a lucky few, still is. The illustrations are both funny and sweet, the writing tender but matter-of-fact. Both were done by the owners of an old-fashioned family farm.

The authors take the reader on a through-the-year tour of their farm, introducing them to the various tasks and animals as they go. Every animal has a personality (even the sheep), and every month has its ups and downs--things the average suburban child, and even the average suburban parent, knows little about. Every child should own these two books!


daughter has enjoyed this since she was 2 y.o.   March 7, 2007
WhatWorks4U? (Stroudsburg, PA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This book was a find at a yard sale and is a joy for both my husband and I as well as my daughter since she was 2. It introduces all kinds of subjects like veterinarian medicine, not to mention the obvious seasons cycle and life on a farm activities. The illustrations are simple and detailed enough to even keep an older childs attention.


Beautiful illustrations and story   June 28, 2008
Stephanie Standley
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This wonderful picture book takes you through a year at a farm (great for us city dwellers who have never step foot on a farm). It is very informative and interesting. The pictures and the story are enjoyed by my children. We are very pleased to have this book in our collection.