Big Red Barn

SLIS 5420- Module 2

Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown.




Bibliography:

Brown, Margaret Wise. Big Red Barn. HarperCollins Publishers, 1956. ISBN: 0-06-020748-5.

Summary:

Margaret Wise Brown, author of Runaway Bunny and Goodnight Moon, takes the reader on a tour around the barn, introducing its animals, young and old, as well as its endearing features that make a barn what it is: the weather vane, haystacks, scarecrow, and crops growing in the fields. Written in easy language and smart rhyme, Brown highlights the relationships between the animals and their surroundings, capturing a baby pig learning how to squeal, newborn mice in the crops, and the animals enjoying each other's company until the sun sets and it is time to go to bed. Big Red Barn is cutely illustrated by Felicia Bond, author/illustrator of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Thoughts:

As an elementary teacher, I enjoy this book. This is a cute, simple story that serves as a perfect introduction for children to common farm animals. The illustrations are bright and colorful, realistic yet still appealing to young children. Brown expertly touches on aspects of the farm that are familiar to children without complicating language or overload of detail. One of my favorite aspects of Big Red Barn is its spanning the entire course of the day, from daybreak to nightfall. The illustrations manage to capture the change in light and action as the day moves along, from bright and busy to still and dim. Simple rhymes lend this story to read-alouds in kindergarten and early childhood classrooms across the nation, and it is evident why Big Red Barn is a classic and well-loved book in libraries, classrooms, and homes.

Reviews:

Library of Congress, Children's Books of 1989


"Harkening back to 1956, this classic children's book by Margaret Wise Brown is still in print. Her lulling cadences introduce the barnyard animals as they play one day while the children are away. The illustrations carry us from sunrise to nightfall. A perfect choice for older toddlers. The revised drawings in full color will delight kids." -Children's Literature

"Brown's simple story comes to life with Bond's new illustrations....Children will enjoy studying each of the pages as the day progresses from early morning to night. Even if the original edition is available, this one is worth having." -School Library Journal

Ideas for Use:

A natural extention after a read-aloud of Big Red Barn for early elementary students would be to play a matching game of baby animals and their mothers. This can be done with cards in small groups, or on the felt board as a large group. A variation would be to match animals with their homes in or around the barn, or sort like and different animals.

A fun animal game can be played in response to the book, assigning different children different animals. Each animal is given to two children, and the children must then make their animal's sound. Partners find each other by recognizing who is making the same animal sound. This game can be a little noisy for the library, but is a great review of animals found in the book!