Farm Tales: Little Golden Book Collection    by Golden Books Order:  USA  Can Golden Books, 2007 (2007) Hardcover      Reviewed by J. A. Kaszuba Locke There are nine delightful tales written by various authors, in this sturdy hardcover, gold-gilded two-hundred-thirteen page Little Golden Book®. Splendorifically vivid colors and life-size images by talented artists are magical to look at. The reading journey begins with Cathleen Schurr's text (accompanied by Gustaf Tenggren's artwork) of The Shy Little Kitten, born in a 'hayloft of an old red barn' into a family of six. Five kittens are 'roly-poly black and white', and there's 'one little striped kitten who was very, very shy.' They all follow their mother as she leads them in a line to explore outside the barn. The shy-striped kitten, the last in line, does some exploring on her own, meeting a 'chubby mole', 'a speckled frog', and 'a shaggy black, mischievous puppy', all of whom become friends. The Boy With a Drum is adorably red-haired with loving eyes, his story set to rhyme by David L. Harrison and art by Eloise Wilkin. 'There once was a boy / With a little toy drum - / Rat-a-tat-tat-a-tat / Rum-a-tum-tum.' The boy plays his drum to a marching rhythm, as many animals join the parade, including geese, a spotted frog, a big yellow dog, a cow, and a horse who unhitches from a plow, leaving behind a very surprised farmer! Each animal sings its own tune - oink, bow-wow, neigh, quack, 'and a mew-mew-mew', as 'They all marched away / To the top of a hill'. A cunning, delightful tale written by Jack Kent features Mrs. Mooley, who finds a book left behind on the floor of the barn by the farmer's little boy. She can't read the words but Mrs. Mooley loves looking at the pictures. Her favorite picture is 'a cow jumping over the moon', so Mrs. Mooley practices while all the other animals laugh to see such folly. But Mrs. Mooley practices and practices, jumping higher and higher into the night ... Each story in Farm Tales is a treasure to read, while moving hands over imaginary fuzzy feathers, counting the animals in the farmyard, seeing how Farmer Brown celebrates his birthday, and giggling at Mrs. Mooley and an opened box of baby chicks. Splendid tales of farmyard animals await youngsters in this celebrated classic collection. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews