A Dairy Farm

Children's Literature

Young readers today may be unaware of the sources of products they use everyday, such as milk, bread, peanut butter and juice. The value of teaching children about agriculture and how it provides food for the world has been proven in many fields of research. This text offers an opportunity to visit a dairy through the words and photographs of the author. The beautiful photographs show small farms and large farms, animals being milked manually and by automation, and delivery methods used for distributing the milk. Throughout the book, glossary is introduced in bold print. Classroom activities are included, as well as a brief glossary, index, and Web links. This is one of several titles in the "Field Trip" series. The other titles include An Airport and A Newspaper. Recommended for reluctant middle school readers. 2004, Smart Apple Media, Ages 8 to 12.
— Joyce Rice

Library Journal

Gr 1-3-Designed for beginning readers, these titles leave much to be desired. The format is distracting and annoying. The text is widely spaced with a fine line between each line of print. Paragraphing is ignored. Instead, a stylized drawing of a leaf is inserted in front of the first word of what should be a new paragraph. Unfamiliar vocabulary appears in bold type in a variety of colors and is defined only in the glossary. Important facts are printed in red with the text written around them. Dairy Farm does not contain much information. Silly statements such as "Cows don't use the bathroom" do not add substance to the text. Terms such as milk tester and milking machine are mentioned, but neither is pictured. The color photos are of average quality, but most are only pictures of cows. The chapter entitled "Modern Dairies" begins with a photo of an udder being milked by hand. In Fire Station, various types of fire departments are described, but with little detail. Fewer than half of the photos illustrate equipment mentioned in the text. In both books, captions are separated from the photos they describe. Neither offering has enough information to justify purchase.-Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.