Title: The Farmer and the Clown
Author/Illustrator: Marla Frazee
Age Group: 2-5
Synopsis: A sullen farmer finds what he’s missing when a small clown suddenly enters his life.
The Lowdown:
The title of this book is a bit odd. It made me pause and go: “Huh?” However, we love Marla Frazee , so I threw caution into the wind and brought it home. Though it is without words, this book is full of emotions, experiences, and a plot that make it accessible and relateable for a wide range of readers. It is through her strong illustrations that Frazee really brings this book to life and made me blink back tears by the end of the story.
The farmer is initially introduced to us as he toils away in his field, a fierce scowl etched on his face. Even the passing of the distant circus train can’t draw a smile from his determinedly cantankerous visage. But his interest is peaked when he notices something falling off the train. When he goes to investigate he finds a small clown. The clown is quite happy that the farmer has found him and rushes into his arms, making the farmer extremely uncomfortable. Unsure, the framer brings the little clown back to his home and after dinner and cleaning up he notices that without his smiling make up that the little clown actually looks worried. They pass a long night in which the farmer contemplates the clown and the clown morosely tries to sleep. In the morning the farmer does his best to raise the little clown’s spirits. And after finally coxing a smile from him they begin to open up. When they go to share a picnic lunch, they notice the circus train coming back. The other clowns are so pleased to have the little clown back and as the farmer very gently says goodbye the little clown breaks away to give him a goodbye hug.
Frazee creates an atmosphere of easy understanding through a dynamic use of color. The farmer, the landscape, the house, essentially everything is presented with a very bleak color scheme. It matches the farmer’s initial outlook and allows young readers to identify the great impact that the little clown’s presence actually represents within this setting. The bright colors that the circus brings out are striking and as the farmer returns home him carrying the little clown’s red hat signifies that he’ll be carrying something else with him as well. It’s those emotional change that are so important in a wordless story and something that Frazee does so well. The characters are so accurate, so accessible, that it really allows readers to connect with the story in a unique way.
Bug loves reading this one to me. And he loves the grumpy farmer and the sweet little clown. So much that he asked to use his new face paint to look like the clown. Of course, once it was on he wanted it off. Meh. It’s marvelous to have wordless books around to help increase his reading confidence and also work on his analytical skills. And it’s even better when it’s a book like The Farmer and the Clown that leaves such a sweet and lasting impression.
Story Tips:
- Allow your young reader to “read”this story to you. Speculate what will happen on the next page and make your own smaller observations. Try and refrain from asking too many prompting questions and turning the experience from a shared interaction into a quiz.
I need more!
Check out my review about Boot and Shoe for more on Marla Frazee.
