Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Daisy Dawson on the Farm
Illustrator: Jessica Meserve
Fiction Series
For ages 6 to 8
Candlewick Press, 2012 ISBN: 978-0763658823
It is summertime and it is very hot. In fact it is so hot and dry that the grass has turned brown, the rivers have turned into “tiny streams,” and everyone is talking about the weather and the lack of rain. Daisy Dawson is out and about when she meets Boomer, her dog friend. Daisy can understand what animals say, so when Boomer tells her that all is not well at the farm, Daisy understands every word he says.
Daisy and Boomer visit the farm, and sure enough the animals are squabbling with each other and some of them are downright unhappy. The heat has made the chickens sluggish, and the pigs are grumpy. The pond has dried up so the poor ducks have nowhere to swim and the newts are homeless.
Daisy is convinced that if they all “work together, we can find a way of making things better.” The animals are happy to help, but no one is quite sure how to help. Clearly the answer to the homeless newt problem is to fill the pond with water, but where is the water going to come from? Conker the squirrel suggests that they ask the water voles to transport water from the river to the pond in their fur and then “wring them out in the duck pond.” Everyone is thrilled by this suggestion and surprisingly enough the voles are more than happy to help out. Unfortunately, as the animals discover for themselves, the water in the vole’s fur does not really amount to much.
Though their vole experiment was not a success, the animals don’t give up. Daisy remembers that is usually rains on Village Day because everyone wants it not to rain. Perhaps, if they have a Farm Day, it will rain. Though the idea seems a little odd, the animals decide that it can’t hurt to give it a try.
In this fifth Daisy Dawson book Daisy and her animal friends bring us yet another story that is packed with delightful characters and charming adventures. Laugh-out-loud moments and gem-like observations that are touched with gentle wisdom make this a memorable book.
