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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Author and photographer Michael J. Rosen spent more than a year chronicling the life of the Bennett family in central Ohio through interviews and vibrant photos. The Bennetts—Mom, Dad, Caleb (age 17), Chase (age 15), Cayne (age 10), Grey (age 8), and Ali (age 4), plus Simon, Bo, and Angus (the dogs)—live on 150 acres in the Appalachian foothills. There the family raises cows and chickens and grows hay and vegetables, all for consumption. In chapters based on the seasons, family members describe the details of their days, including work and play. Cayne notes, “The chicks will eat from your hands if you just hold the grain down near them in your open hands. First, they are a bit skittish, but then they come and eat a little…sometimes you can feel their beaks, like you are getting pinched.” Regarding the grape arbor on the property, Chase explains, “We have one huge vine that went along the cow fence and then along the creek. You could swing from the hill out over the creek and then—if you held on—swing right back to the top of the hill.” From sweaty work baling hay to the glory of a cool dip in the swimming hole, and from the pride of canning jam and raising chicks to the peacefulness of spending so much time outdoors, the Bennetts find harmony in the land and with each other. Our Farm offers readers a personal look at one farm family’s life and how that life might look familiar to, or very different from, their own. (Ages 8–14)

CCBC Choices 2009 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2009. Used with permission.