Midnight Farm (Aladdin Picture Books) - Softcover

Simon, Carly

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0689838883 ISBN 13: 9780689838880

Publisher: Aladdin, 2000

Synopsis

Two brothers join a fantastical nighttime musical celebration by the plants and animals on their farm on Martha's Vineyard.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Late one summer night, twin boys wake to the sound of hoots and howls. Peering out their window they see a strange sight -- it may be time to sleep everywhere else, but on this Martha's Vineyard farm all of the animals and vegetables are just waking up and putting on thier clothes! A field mouse invites the boys to join in the midnight celebration, and they find themsleves caught up in a very different kind of nocturnal adventure.

Carly Simon's rollicking, rhythmic text is a delight to read aloud. Together with David Delamare's dreamlike illustrations it creates an imaginative fantasy that will capitivate readers.

From School Library Journal:

PreSchool-Grade 2. Simon's inventive nighttime fantasy is set in a rural area of Martha's Vineyard. Under a melon-sized moon, pajamaed twin brothers cavort with a choir-directing tulip, a guitar-strumming apple tree, a mandolin-playing mouse, jitterbugging sheep, and chattering flamingos, while on the sidelines jauntily dressed cows applaud in appreciation. For the most part, Simon's words trip easily off the tongue, but, at times, readers will need to adapt their pronunciation to make the rhyme work ("The queen bee looked so mean/when we ran we got tangled/in her wide crinoline"). Delamare's acrylic illustrations, while well drafted and filled with precise detail, have an enameled look that seems a shade too harsh for a nocturnal adventure. Irene Haas's fanciful and delicately rendered A Summertime Song (McElderry, 1997) offers a more dreamlike reverie; however, children liking a large dollop of wackiness in their fantasies will enjoy the fun this duo provides.?Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aladdin
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0689838883
• ISBN 13: 9780689838880
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Delamare David