The Animal Hedge

This is a beautiful book with a nice story. I purchased one for my son, but after seeing what a nice book it was, ordered a 2nd to give as a gift.

Every year I buy each of my children a special book for their birthday. I look for a beautiful story. If the story happens to have beautiful pictures to go with it,that is the icing on the cake. The Animal Hedge has both a beautiful story and beautiful illustrations. This is a book that will have more meaning to a child as he or she grows older. There are a handful of books that we will save for our children, and this is one of them.

The Animal Hedge is a beautiful children's book with quietly amazing illustrations done in watercolor and gouache. The story tells of a farmer with three sons who endures the loss of his beloved animals and farm due to drought. He maintains himself as best he can, sharpening tools. He remembers the different dreams and abilities of his three sons when it comes time for them to choose their professions. When they each ask what trade they should choose, he tells them to watch the hedge that surrounds their tiny cottage, for its shape will give a powerful clue to the best vocation for each young man. Amazingly, wondrous shapes arise from the humble hedge to direct the sons in their vocations. The eldest sees a coach and becomes a coachman; the second sees a mystic ship and becomes a sailor, while the youngest sees a fiddler, always his dream, and he decides to become a fiddler. But most wonderful of all is the love and the vision of the farmer for his sons' futures. After they all leave and become successful in their chosen vocations, he is lonely and shapes his hedge in the forms of all the animals he had loved when he had his farm. Then all the sons come home and find that it was not nature alone , but their father's trimming of the hedge that had shown them the desires that lay in their hearts. Excited, they see the many animals he has shaped from the shrubs in his loneliness. They put their resources together and return to give their father the animals he has missed; chickens, pigs, and cows. Upon seeing this, "The farmer's heart glowed like a hot wood stove. And he made up his mind to let the hedge grow back just as it pleased."This beautiful and healing tale of love between father and sons is further underscored by the muted colors and patchwork placements of the American folk art-influenced illustrations. Perhaps the most striking quality which might be encouraged by the telling of this story is faith in the dreams of youth, faith which endures and survives hardship and privation, faith which does not require youth to remold itself in the cast of the past, a faith which sets them free to follow their hearts, just as the father has done. This is a lovely children's book, very appropriate for preschool to kindergarten age levels. It is sure to be treasured by child and parent alike.

Readers will have a hard time believing Bagram Ibatoulline's folk art illustrations were recently done in watercolor and gouache and are not true 19th c. folk art paintings. With their aged look and timeless quality, these incredible illustrations alone would make The Animal Hedge worth its price. Fortunately, you will get even more than you bargained for since Paul Fleischman has written a wonderful and touching story. While the tale begins on a bit of a sad note when a farmer and his sons are forced from their land because of a drought, the tone is certainly changed when the rains begin to fall again and a magical hedge begins to show the three sons how to live happy and productive lives. The sweet ending will warm your heart. A wonderful father/son story with a fantastical touch.