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Down by the Barn
Down by the barn, early in the morning, a farmer drives his tractor, stopping along the way to pick up a calf, then a chick, then a pig. The group of animals grows and grows until at last they reach their destination?and find a surprise. Charming illustrations and rhythmic text filled with sound words make this the perfect read-aloud for young children.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published May 20, 2014
About the author
Will Hillenbrand
85 books98 followersWill Hillenbrand is an American children's book author and illustrator who has worked on over seventy books for young people. Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, he was influenced by the stories he heard in his father's barbershop growing up. After taking a class in picture-book art while in art school, he decided to pursue a career in children's literature, combining his love of storytelling with his love of illustration. He lives in Terrace Park, Ohio with his wife, Jane, and their son, Ian.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
May 7, 2014
An adorable adaptation of the classic children's song "Down by the Station." The rustic style and colors are perfectly suited for this setting. The final pages show a field trip arriving to visit the farm. The class is a lovely, diverse group, with an African American teacher and a classmate in a wheelchair. A fun read and sing-aloud for story times and kindergarten classes.
February 5, 2020
This book shows a great repetition involving different kinds of baby animals as well as different kinds of noises. The book shows a great story of the different kinds of animals going to the same place and showing how the kids are all going to school. This book is good for kindergarten as well as first, for its sometimes hard for that age group to ride the bus and doing something new. This demonstrates that little animals also transition and that kids are not the only ones.
February 8, 2019
Getting ready for a new set/theme for Toddler Tales and Farm life it is!! I thought this was super cute and loved the repetition, which the kids will love. I'm a big fan of Hillenbrand and his stories & illustrations are always great. I can't wait to read this out loud and with my little story time friends.
August 15, 2018
This is an adorable story- you will absolutely LOVE if you like down by the bay (song)- which.... my students adored last year.
It has rhyme, repetition and cute illustrations
Doesnt sing like the song... but..
not bad
It has rhyme, repetition and cute illustrations
Doesnt sing like the song... but..
not bad
June 7, 2018
Fun story to sing.
Enjoyed reading to toddlers.
The fox scene was very random to me.
Enjoyed reading to toddlers.
The fox scene was very random to me.
July 12, 2018
Fun and witty riff on a classic children's song
A fun and witty riff on "Down at the Station.". The illustrations are well done and humorous in their own right.
A fun and witty riff on "Down at the Station.". The illustrations are well done and humorous in their own right.
July 18, 2018
Print and pictures are too small.
Story was good but the book shows up so small that this granny can hardly read it and the pictures are too small
Story was good but the book shows up so small that this granny can hardly read it and the pictures are too small
April 29, 2019
Fun story you can sing, with repeating refrain that keeps adding new sounds.
This would go great with a felt board!
This would go great with a felt board!
August 27, 2019
Cute cumulative story that will be fun for storytime.
Shelved as 'just-the-cover'
October 7, 2020The kitten peeking out of the scarecrow's pocket is just too cute.
November 12, 2020
This one came as a free book in my last Scholastic book box. It's probably great for the Pre-K crowd, but I don't think it will hold the attention of 1st graders as a read aloud.
February 3, 2021
A great farm book with lots of repetition. Would be good for toddlers. Nice illustrations
December 4, 2021
Down by the Barn by Will Hillenbrand -- This is on kindle unlimited. A cute little animal story! Happy Reading!
March 1, 2022
Super cute reworking of the classic toddler song that goes, "Down by the station, early in the morning..."
Read
August 28, 2023n/a. 10/08/20 Video
September 28, 2023
Another version of "Down By the Station." Only with farm animals.
April 10, 2024
Found in L4L Volume 28
October 30, 2021
This adorable story is beautifully illustrated and fun to read. It's even more fun to sing this cumulative story as baby animals are gathered and taken to meet friends. A different and wonderful ending.
February 11, 2017
It’s the repetition and the pictures that attracted me to this book. The pictures are kid-friendly with brilliant, sharp illustrations of a dog on his tractor pulling a few trailers with a happy-go-lucky scarecrow sitting on the last one. “Puff, Puff, click, clank, off we go!” as they head off down the hill. Pulling on his lever, he passes many of their farm yard animal friends. Each of the animals gets onto one of his trailers and their individual animal sound is then added to the famous line “puff, puff, click, clank, off we go!” Each time they see an animal, the refrain is repeated and the famous line is also repeated, substituting the new animals name and adding each animals sound until you have a chant with all the farm yard animals sounds. The trailer finally makes it to its destination and its smiles all around. I think this would make an excellent book for younger readers as they would love the repetitive refrain with the animal sounds and the pictures are lively and entertaining.
May 27, 2014
This nicely-illustrated picture book will entertain the kids, but I wish that Hillenbrand had put a bit more work into the rhymes, which are just clumsy enough that they may bother the parents who will have to read them aloud, as their kids request the book again and again.
Sort of a sequel to "Down by the Station," where he turned an old children's song into a story about zoo animals, here the story takes place on a farm.
The only down side is that the entire story consists of adding baby animals to the wagons, and only at the end does the reader learn why.
Still, it is simple enough to read to young children, and cute enough that they will enjoy it.
Sort of a sequel to "Down by the Station," where he turned an old children's song into a story about zoo animals, here the story takes place on a farm.
The only down side is that the entire story consists of adding baby animals to the wagons, and only at the end does the reader learn why.
Still, it is simple enough to read to young children, and cute enough that they will enjoy it.
July 23, 2014
As I completed the first reading of this book, I was aware that I was smiling broadly and had been for quite some time, and that the glow remained for quite a while. So much eye candy - the illustrations are full of character development, story line, and gentle, good humor. It is a sound filled, color filled delight, and I am EAGER to share it with my grandchildren!!! I am grateful to have received it as a First Reads winner. I anticipate it will go on to receive many accolades and awards. In our extended family I imagine there will be many participative readings of the book accompanied by acclamations of "Again, Again!" Bravo, Will Hillenbrand!
August 6, 2014
Age: Infant-Preschool
A perfectly metered song book that depicts several baby animals climbing aboard a wagon train as their parents say goodbye. We finally find out where these babies are going when they reach their destination just as a school bus is unloading a class to play with them. A simple, yet much appreciated, all-inclusive class including a girl in a wheelchair and a boy with a high top haircut.
A perfectly metered song book that depicts several baby animals climbing aboard a wagon train as their parents say goodbye. We finally find out where these babies are going when they reach their destination just as a school bus is unloading a class to play with them. A simple, yet much appreciated, all-inclusive class including a girl in a wheelchair and a boy with a high top haircut.
August 21, 2014
This book can be sung to the tune of Down by the Station, Early in the Morning. A farmer and his scarecrow travel through the farm on the tractor picking up baby animals as they go along. This is a cumulative song that adds the sounds of the animals one by one. Children and their readers will have a ball trying to remember all the sounds. There is a surprise ending that will delight. For ages 3-7.
August 9, 2015
This book's use of repetition and sound words would make it a GREAT book to use with young readers who want to chime in and read along, which would make it especially suitable for kindergarteners and first graders. These young students could also guess which animals might be found next, infer what the fox is up to as he skulks around in the corners and backgrounds of each page, and they would learn the names of baby animals that they might not know.
August 26, 2014
Cute Old McDonald type update on Down By the Station
Cute Old McDonald type update on Down By the Station
The artwork is cute with nice color range and details, has a watercolor feel to it. The story follows Hillenbrand's Down By the Station story but uses farm animals instead of a zoo. It's funny and cute.
Cute Old McDonald type update on Down By the Station
The artwork is cute with nice color range and details, has a watercolor feel to it. The story follows Hillenbrand's Down By the Station story but uses farm animals instead of a zoo. It's funny and cute.
September 1, 2015
Story about baby farm animals being picked up for school. Simple repetitive text and only 1/2 sentences per page.
I wish I could recommend it for storytimes but no.
Odd animals sounds and key elements of the picture, e.g., the chick are too small too see.
Also no set up of a story - no explanation, or idea of where it is going.
I wish I could recommend it for storytimes but no.
Odd animals sounds and key elements of the picture, e.g., the chick are too small too see.
Also no set up of a story - no explanation, or idea of where it is going.
August 13, 2016
Love the pictures. I don't always care for building repetitive text, but it totally works in this one! A definite toddler and preschool storytime choice and I might just shorten it a bit for the babytime, we'll see.
June 10, 2014
This is a great book to read aloud to ECE level readers and below! It encourages audience participation and interaction throughout the story, there is lots of repetition, opportunities to engage, and vocabulary of animals that children might not know.
June 2, 2015
This is a wonderful choice for a library story time or one or one reading. I recently used this for a library story time for children ages 18 months to age 3. The rhyming text and animal sounds make this an appealing story.
November 4, 2015
This children's book was an absolute delight.
The little ones learn about what kind of animals you can find in a farm and the brightly colored illustrations keep them engaged.
Rating 5 out of 5
Read@Book
The little ones learn about what kind of animals you can find in a farm and the brightly colored illustrations keep them engaged.
Rating 5 out of 5
Read@Book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews