Funny Farm by Mark Teague

When I read the title and saw the cover, I thought it was going to be a silly book that would make kids laugh. But, it really wasn't like that-in fact, it was kind of serious and straight-forward. The book is about a dog named Edward who goes to visit his relatives (also dogs) who live on the farm. The entire book is about what Edward does during the day-he milks the cows, feeds the pigs, gathers eggs, etc. The text is just a list of his activities throughout the day. Although the text isn't funny, the pictures do have a hint of comedy in them. I can see children laughing at the pictures but I think it would have been better if the text went along more with the pictures.

Like I stated before, the illustrator (also the author) does a good job of making the pictures "funny." For example, there is a picture of the hens chasing Edward after he goes to gather the eggs and the pigs are watching and laughing at him. Overall, this is a good book; I would read it to my students. I just wish there was more to the text to better correspond with the pictures.