Didn't expect to like this, but I did, and I liked it even more because my kid likes it so much. I thought I might have to work too hard because there are no words, but it's easy to share it with my two year old, and she loves the expressions on their faces. ( )

This is another book I thought I had read, but I must not have.

I like clowns, unlike a lot of people, but there is something a little strange about the contrast of the clown in the very tan, wide-open, rural atmosphere. I always do like Marla Frazee's art style.

The story is almost entirely wordless except for three words -- or rather, one word, repeated: "Toot! Toot! Toot!"

Kids will get a laugh at the surprise on the last page. ( )

This one is a master work in the "wordless picture book" category. A young clown, only a toddler, really, falls off of the circus train in the vast, flat prairie and is taken in and cared for by a glum, lanky farmer. As the farmer begins to try and cheer the boy, his frown and furrowed brow transform and turn to smiles.

I cried a bit, at the end of this. Maybe it's just that I'm the mother of a preschooler, but all I could think was that if my child were ever lost, wouldn't this be what I wanted for him? For a kind stranger to gently care for him until I could return? ( )

First in the Farmer trilogy.

When a circus train passes by an isolated farm, a child clown falls off. The farmer takes care of him, and the clown teaches the farmer a few tricks before returning to the circus when the train passes by again the next day.

The palette is somewhat moody and restrained, excepted for the bright red of the clown's suit and pointed red hat. The farm animals - cows and chickens - watch the new visitor with interest. ( )

stunning illustrations -- such a tender story and the tonality of color and artistic style supported the emotional nuances of the tale ( )