Farmer Joe and the Music Show - Tony Mitton

My boys have a lot of books that have a musical element to them; writing in rhyme seems to be a pre-requisite to much of the children's literary canon these days, but none more so than this book. Whereas lots of book have rhyme in them, I find it impossible not to sing this book when my boy wants it read to him. The book tells the story about a farm that is struggling, mainly because all of the animals seem to be suffering from some sort of depression. Anyway, Farmer Joe (a dog) gets his guitar out and then that starts a great big musical extravaganza that gets all the animals on track. As I've said a fair few times, having a kiddies book that ...  Read the complete review

This is another story that we've picked up from our local library. It's written by Tony Mitton and illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees and tells the story of Farmer Joe. He owns a farm but unfortunately the animals aren't doing what they are suppose to; the hens don't lay eggs, the cows don't moo and the pigs don't eat. Farmer Joe has the novel idea of playing a little tune on his guitar to see if that'll encourage the animals to cheer up and start acting like normal farmyard animals. He starts playing and his friends decide to come on down to the farm and play their instruments too but will the animals change their mood? The book is written in rhyme which makes it ...  Read the complete review

I read 'Farmer Joe and the Music Show' with my two daughters who are aged five and three and we all absolutely loved it. It's a sweet appealing story with plenty of humour and a rhythm which will make you want to start tapping your toes as you read. Farmer Joe has a big problem down on his farm. Nothing is behaving the way it should and that means that the cows aren't grazing, the crops aren't growing, the hens aren't laying and the pigs aren't feeding. He suddenly remembers though that 'music has the power to cheer' and starts plucking on the strings of his old guitar. Before he knows what's happening, the hens start flapping and clucking and are even laying ...  Read the complete review