The Midnight Farm

My 26 year old daughter received this book as gift when she was young. She loved to be read to and had dozens of book but "The Midnight Farm" always stood out as a favorite for both of us. It's calm, gentle story and beautiful illustrations/paintings are perfect for the bedtime/nap time read. I purchased this copy for my husband's grand daughters and still have my daughter's copy tucked away. It is a standout in the thousands of children's book and an author that can bring up a discussion of it's own, Reeve Lindbergh.

THE MIDNIGHT FARM, which is inexplicably now out of print, is the best bedtime book ever written. With a sleepy, repetitive, poetic cadence, Reeve Lindberg not only gives a lesson about not being afraid of the dark, but also subtly includes 1-10 counting and 10 different kinds of animals. Susan Jeffers' illustrations are beautiful, encouraging the child (and the parent) to appreciate the warmth and beauty of the animals, safe and warm in the dark. I love GOOD NIGHT, MOON, but THE MIDNIGHT FARM is even better and richer, and I can't imagine why it's out of print.

Really the title should have been "here is the dark" as this is the repetitive line on every page that is such a great line! The book starts off in the bedroom of a little boy whose mother is telling him of what is happening in the darkness. She talks of the darkness in the room. Then they move out into the hall and outside, each step along the way she is pointing out what is in the darkness (the same things as were there when it was light). When they go outdoors they see both wild animals and farm animals and they see what they are doing in the dark. In the beginning the rhyme points to one item, then goes up to ten as the pages are turned. The last page summarizes that all the animals are "safe and still and warm, deep in the dark and free from harm, in the dark of the midnight farm". The text does not say so but it is apparent that the little boy was afraid of the dark and that this is the mothers' creative way to show him what is happening in the dark and that "life goes on" in the dark and that everyone and everything is safe in the dark. The last image is of the boy sleeping in his bedroom alone while mother looks over him.The illustrations are beautiful. My children and I loved the rhyme and the repetitive nature, along with the counting up from one to ten.Despite the publisher's age range, I feel this is fine for two year old's.

This lovely story is so soft and lyrical, it is a joy to read and a pleasure to listen to. As night falls, a mother and child visit all of the animals on the farm, settling down for the night.

This book was a favorite of my son many years ago (he's now 12) and is now a favorite of my daughter (2). Both love/d the idea of the mother taking her child out of bed to visit everything in the dark -- the dog sleeping in the chair, the geese milling outside the barn, the horses dozing in their stalls, the mice sleeping in the old stone wall, etc. Miss Lindbergh's prose is comforting and lulling: "Here is the dark of the midnight farm, safe and still and full and warm, deep in the dark and free from harm, in the dark of the midnight farm..." A great book.