Barn Raising

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Barn Raising written and illustrated by Craig Brown. Greenwillow, 2002.
When Jacob's family's barn burns, the animals get out safely. But the barn is gone for good. A working farm needs a barn to store equipment, hay, and of course, livestock. What happens next on the Amish farm on which the story is et is called a barn raising. Friends and neighbors from miles around and come to give good-natured cooperation and hard work. Craig Brown treats his readers to a you-are-there look at a phenomenon that still takes place in Amish settlements across America. A picture book tribute to the spirit of community, which is made all the more poignant by the author-artist's elegantly simple folk-style paintings. Features a detailed note about barn raisings that expands on the facts behind the story. (This annotation adapted from the Greenwillow Picture Book catalog, fall 2002.)

• Read:
• Yolen, Jane. Raising Yoder's Barn.
  Illustrated by Bernie Fuchs
  Little Brown 1998.
  Raising Yoder's Barn is set in the Amish community in Pennsylvania. Barn Raising takes place in Kalona, Iowa. Compare and contrast the two communities.
• Make a 3-D map of the farmyard and barn.
• Visit an Amish community.
• Visit web sites from Amish Communities in Pennslyvania, Ohio, and Illinois. This link takes you to a "Google" search for Amish related web sites.

Back to Craig Brown's home page.

Text © 1996-2003 Sharron McElmeel
Illustrations © 2002 Craig Brown.

Barn Raising page on the Craig Brown web site created on July, 2002.

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