The Farmer in the Dell - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1567922708 ISBN 13: 9781567922707

Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher, 2004

Synopsis

The timeless circle-game "The Farmer in the Dell" is one of the first that children learn to play. In this picture book, Ilse Plume has imagined a fresh setting for the lyrics―a farmstead in the Pennsylvania Dutch country.

About this title

About the Author

Ilse Plume is a collector and illustrator of children’s songs and folktales from around the world. Her first book, The Bremen-Town Musicians, was a Caldecott Honor book.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2–The life of a farm family is portrayed in this newly illustrated version of the traditional children's singing game. Seasons change and years pass as the farmer does his chores in the summer, marries in the fall, becomes a father in the winter, and sows his crops in the spring. The setting is the Pennsylvania Dutch country, and the pages abound with birds, hearts, and flowers in the style of those found in Amish quilts. The clothing, furniture, architecture, and buggies reinforce the sense of place. Plume's delicate, colored-pencil illustrations have a flat, patterned quality and are printed on off-white paper, which gives this small book an old-fashioned feel. The text gently undulates across the horizontal pages, echoing the rolling hills of the landscape and recalling the musical nature of the text. Instructions for playing the game, notes about the art, and sheet-music endpapers are included. The version illustrated by Alexandra Wallner (Holiday House, 1998) is done in a more general American folk art style.A lovely addition to music or picture-book collections.–Robin L. Gibson, formerly at Perry County District Library, New Lexington, OH
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PreS. The artwork and the careful bookmaking of this lovely offering harken back to an earlier time. Plume, whose book The Bremen Town Magicians was a 1981 Caldecott Honor Book, sets her rendition of the old favorite in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The women wear long skirts; the men, broad-brimmed hats; and motifs of the region appear everywhere, from barns to chests of drawers. The seasons pass swathed in color--autumn golds and reds, winter whites, and the colors of summer flowers--as a young family, its nurse, animals (and cheese) go about their days in ways that illustrate the song. Plume's colored-pencil artwork has a timeless quality and depth that makes it possible to look at the pictures long after the song has been sung and the game has been played. Back matter includes the music and advice on how to play the game. Readers who nostalgically remember Lois Lenski's work will find a memory of it here. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1567922708
• ISBN 13: 9781567922707
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Plume Ilse
• Number of pages: 32