I am blessed to say that my boys love to “read” and look through books. Charlie (3 years old) has enjoyed being read to and looking through books since he was old enough and strong enough to turn the pages of board books. He insists on reading at least one book every night before bedtime and the books I’m going to share with you are some of his favorites. Noah (1 year old) is just starting to enjoy being read to; he has been a busy bodied boy since he became mobile so sitting still to listen to a book has been next to impossible for him until recently. Now, when things have gotten quiet and I start to panic, wondering what type of mess he’s making, I usually find him next to the bookshelf in the living room flipping through a book.
Many of the books in our collection have been gifted by family members or friends who learned that Charlie actually likes to sit and listen to books or flip through them himself. I do admit, it is so hard not to buy one of every title in the kids section of a bookstore! I don’t want them to miss out and studies show that the more books a child is exposed to at a young age greatly impacts their performance in school later in their life.
One of the things I always look for in books is how realistic they are. Agriculture and farming are greatly misunderstood and it is really important to me that I am sharing things that are real and happen on real farms and although in some the animals and equipment talk and have faces, the lessons they are teaching through the story are applicable to real life.
These are our top 5 favorite farm books for kids!
1. Little Blue Truck – this was Charlie’s obsession during the first year and a half of his life. Levi and I swear we read the original Little Blue Truck to him at least 600 times. And that’s not counting all the other books in the Little Blue Truck series. We have them all.
2. Tractor Mac – both boys have moved on to the Tractor Mac series. The two most popular stories in our house are Worth the Wait and Harvest Time. There are more than 15 books in the Tractor Mac series and I’m pretty sure we’re well on our way to having them all.
3. Cows Can Moo! Can You? – Who isn’t a sucker for Dr. Seuss? Although this is the only farm related book I’ve ever found from Dr. Seuss or The Cat in the Hat Learning Library, I love it! Of all the books we recommend this one is by the most informative about what actually takes place on the farm. It also is part of the The Cat in the Hat Learning Library series which I love because the topics are so diverse. This is also the first book I read to our bottle lambs in a YouTube video a few years back! They loved it; it was hilarious! Check it out here!
4. My First Farm – This is our go to church book because it keeps them quiet - if you know, you know. It’s been especially great for Noah because there are so many things, animals and equipment to look at. The layout of the book is also fabulous because Noah can grab a tab and turn the page all by himself.
5. Chug Chug Tractor – One of the only books we’ve ever found with Massey Ferguson tractors in it. If you aren’t from a farm or farming background that probably means nothing to you but to my boys it means the world. We have a Massey Ferguson tractor on our farm so for them to recognize the same tractor brand that we have is really special. This book has tons of flaps and sounds that go with it as well as learning and teaching animal sounds, numbers and parts of the tractor.
So there are our favorite books. Do your kids love to read too? Share your families favorite books with me in the comments!
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