Wise Acres

There has never been a more bucolic farm than Wise Acres. There the sun always shines, the sky is always blue, and the breezes are always gentle. The inhabitants of the barnyard -- an assortment of busy, caring, and totally off-the-wall farm animals -- pass their days peacefully in song, dance, and storytelling. That is, until something goes wrong. Then the animals cannot resist rushing in to help each other -- with hilarious results.
In three episodes noteworthy for their straight-faced humor, George Shannon creates a world of lovable, zany animals who establish a special brand of illogic that children will take to heart, while Deborah Zemke's action-packed portrayals of the Wise Acre antics are as fresh and original as the barnyard creatures themselves.

Publishers Weekly

Zemke's (D Is for Doodle) watercolor-and-ink renderings of the barnyard denizens on Wise Acres farm are the main attraction in this trio of stories. Janet, a diving pig (her specialties include the "Bacon Buster") attempts to retrieve a submerged tambourine, lost during some enthusiastic shaking by Pearl the nanny goat; Vern, a ram who yearns for mail, receives individual letters of the alphabet from some well-meaning chickens; and a vain turkey named Ted decides to fight wrinkles with shoes made from pine cones: "It hurts so much to walk," he boasts to his friends, "I haven't thought of anything else since I put them on!" Although a goofy logic bubbles through the stories (when Doug the rooster remarks that the one envelope that Vern receives is empty, Vern replies, "No news is good news, as everyone knows"), Shannon's (Lizard's Song) writing is uncharacteristically static. Without a comic rhythm or arch point of view, the prose often feels like a well-intended joke gone flat. But Zemke's artwork, brimming with whimsy and wit, buoys the book. Her precise ink line becomes a kind of visual straight man to the shenanigans, while her characters exude the manic intensity and earnestness that are the marks of true silliness. Ages 4-8. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

George Shannon was born in Kansas and grew up in Kentucky. He is the author of over twenty-five books for children, among them the Stories to Solve series, the beloved Lizard's Song , and the endearing Tippy-Toe Chick, Go! A former librarian and storytelle

Deborah Zemke was born in Michigan and attended York University in Toronto, Ontario. She has illustrated several children's books, including D is for Doodle for Blue Apple Books, and is creator of fonts as well as an artist. She lives with her family in Co