Wake Up, Big Barn!

From morning 'til night, the sights and sounds of a farm are pure delight for readers of Suzanne Tanner Chitwood's Wake Up, Big Barn! Gorgeous and unusual torn-paper collages, using her husband's discarded catalogs, are rich in color and pattern. A rooster bellows his "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" as feathers fly in his exuberance. A closer look reveals that those feathers are actually the red plaids of shirts and the brilliant crimson of flowers; presumably, her husband collects gardening and casual-wear catalogs. Simple, onomatopoeic, and rhyming text make it a terrific read-aloud: "Hip-hop, / bebop, / farm frogs / rock hop!" Every illustration is frame-worthy, from frolicking frogs to muddy pigs to falling cherries ("Ping! Ping!").

This is an impressive first foray into picture books for the talented Chitwood. The artwork is as friendly as it is beautiful, and the lively, rollicking verses will capture the fancy of readers young and old. (Ages 2 to 6) --Emilie Coulter