Published by Katherine Tegen Books on September 17, 2019
ISBN: 0062687735
Pages: 48
Genres: Animals, Historical Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads
“The Hundred – Year Barn” is a historical fiction picture book about a barn that has stood in place for one hundred years. A young boy boy who observed the barn raising as a five year old narrates the story of the barn and all of the changes it experienced as the years unfolded. Life and its everyday activities revolve around the barn and animals and people who work in the barn. Woven into this lovely, sentimental tale is the story of the boy’s father who lost his wedding ring when the barn was being constructed. The young boy finds the ring in the grass and put it into his pocket; however, the ring falls through through a hole and is lost for many years. One day, the boy, now grown, returns home to marry the young girl who years ago fell into the meadow stream. And later, the man, discovers his father’s lost ring in a bird’s nest which falls from the rafters in the barn. He then proceeds to hang the ring on a hook beneath his father’s photograph of “the hundred – year old barn.”
Throughout time the barn has stood as a symbol of peace, community and stability. A sweet nostalgic tale that gives children, who so often live in the moment, a nice perspective on time itself. Through this story, children may come to appreciate the importance of taking pause to reflect, appreciate, and consider the changes they have experienced in their own short lives.
The watercolor illustrations are soft colored, tenderly rendered and expressive. The story itself and the illustrations tend to evoke a melancholy mood. The story in itself, however, is not sad.
Reviewed By Connie M. Smith, Breakwater School, Portland, ME