When Farmer Brown goes on vacation, he leaves the farm in the hands of his brother, Bob. Bob is unaware of the exceptional abilities of Farmer Brown’s barnyard friends and soon falls for the antics of Duck. Duck is the appointed note forger and does a fabulous job of tricking Bob into aiding the animals in getting their hearts’ desires.
The book is short enough to hold the attention span of even the youngest of your students, while also being interesting enough to engage your elementary students. Picture books have the ability to appeal to all age groups because their meanings can be taken superficially, but often have a deeper meaning. Is Duck being mischievous or is he working for better living conditions for his barnyard neighbors?
Plus, this story is a great way to introduce additional engaging learning activities about farms and animals. Take the book outside and start learning about the world around you. *Bonus points if you read it on a farm!
What type of feathers do ducks have? Why do they not sink in the water? Can a duck drown? How do they keep from freezing in cold water? And can they really hold a pencil with their webbed feet?
Or perhaps you might want to stroll down a rabbit trail about the other barnyard animals. Do pigs really take baths? Why do we think pigs are dirty animals?
Do chickens prefer anchovies on their pizza? What do chickens even eat and how do they eat?
And are musicals a cow’s favorite? How good is a cow’s hearing anyway?
achelle McVey is a working homeschooling mom of 3 in the South. She is the owner of HideTheChocolate.com, a blog about her adventures in homeschooling and parenting. She is also the author of dozens of online book clubs for kids from preschool to high school at her site Literary Adventures for Kids. You can often find her reading a good book (or even sometimes just an okay book) and enjoying a jar of Nutella — don’t judge. ;)
