What do animals do all day when left alone at the farm? Find out in Big Red Barn, an adorable lap-size (if your are a toddler) board book! The story is directed at the little ones just learning their words. It is told in short sentences loaded with alliteration and rhymes. Its also a great bedtime book, since the story describes the different farm animals playing all day until they are tired and go to bed. The final few pages are shaded dark and the sentences become shorter, tucking the reading into bed as well.
You can interact with your little one by naming each animal and reading the different animal sounds with great animation. Earn a smile from them as you cock-a-doodle-doo, meow, or bow wow! Does your child have a favorite animal, or favorite animal sound? With brightly colored drawings, this is also a great book to learn and practice colors. What color is the horse? How about the pig? Finally, you can begin incorporating some numbers as well. How many eggs are in the chicken's nest? How many puppies does the dog have?
I read this story to my friend Dano when he was one. I was babysitting and it was time for a nap. He usually wanted at least three books before laying down, so I purposely saved this one for last. I knew he would enjoy seeing the farm animals, and he loved turning the pages of books, so board books were best of him. However, I also wanted to use the end of the book - when the animals go to bed - as a segue into nap time. It worked! I suggested he lay down and close his eyes like the horses, sheep, dogs, and kitties, and he did without any resistance.
--Audra