Calm Your Farm

Calm Your Farm written and illustrated by Dale Baker (Little Big Sky Books) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN: 9781923514256

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Has anyone ever told you to ‘calm your farm’? Settle down? Stress less? Just be quiet?

Despite the crow of a rooster in the morning, the moo of cows, the cluckety-cluck of chickens and the occasional grunt of a pig, farms are not exactly known to be noisy and chaotic places. Busy, yes. Needing to be told to ‘calm down!’, no.

Welcome to Dale Baker’s farm.

A farm where the animals have, to put it simply, gone berserk.

Imagine the chaos caused by ducks with water guns, egg-throwing chickens and tractor-driving cows (who probably shouldn’t be behind the wheel). All the animals are running amok … except one little fella, and he just doesn’t know what to do … until it all gets too much!

The question is ‘why?’ What has caused this farm to lose its calm?

Dale Baker’s lively illustrations capture the pandemonium of farm life when things go just a little (or a lot) awry.

Children aged 4 – 8 years will delight in Calm Your Farm – the rollicking story of a farmer and one sensible duck who just want everyone to do their job.

Calm Your Farm

Calm Your Farm written and illustrated by Dale Baker (Little Big Sky Books) HB RRP $24.99 ISBN: 9781923514256

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Has anyone ever told you to ‘calm your farm’? Settle down? Stress less? Just be quiet?

Despite the crow of a rooster in the morning, the moo of cows, the cluckety-cluck of chickens and the occasional grunt of a pig, farms are not exactly known to be noisy and chaotic places. Busy, yes. Needing to be told to ‘calm down!’, no.

Welcome to Dale Baker’s farm. A farm where the animals have, to put it simply, gone berserk.

Imagine the chaos caused by ducks with water guns, egg-throwing chickens and tractor-driving cows (who probably shouldn’t be behind the wheel). All the animals are running amok … except one little fella, and he just doesn’t know what to do … until it all gets too much!

The question is ‘why?’ What has caused this farm to lose its calm?

Dale Baker’s lively illustrations capture the pandemonium of farm life when things go just a little (or a lot) awry.

Children aged 4 – 8 years will delight in Calm Your Farm – the rollicking story of a farmer and one sensible duck who just want everyone to do their job.

I Love to Draw

I Love to Draw by Dale Baker (Big Sky Publishing), RRP $24.99 Picture Book ISBN 9-781923-514263

Reviewed by Susan Hancy

Do you have a budding young artist in the family? Or a child who loves to scribble? Perhaps even you would like some sneaky drawing tips to impress the kids? 

I Love to Draw combines the concept of a “how to draw …” [fill in the blank] instructional guide with a picture book story. Told in verse, the reader is introduced to the possibilities of what could be created when you tap into your imagination. Young minds are challenged – is that an elephant or an upside-down swan? How has the head of a cow become a seal and then transformed into a penguin? Then it’s time for the reader to pick up their own pencil and grab some paper. Follow along, and with a few simple steps, you’ll be impressed with what you can also create!

This is an enjoyable book for kids ages 4 to 7. Even though the verse's rhythm is inconsistent in places, the concept is strong, and the illustrations carry the book to a successful conclusion.