City Farm

K-Gr 2–Willadeene’s vegetable farm was just where she liked it, “in the wide-open middle of nowhere.” Even when a man offered her a whole truckload of money for it, she told him that the farm was not for sale. The man, who already owned all the land surrounding the farm, built a town that turned into a city, and Willadeene went right on farming. The city folk loved having a farm in the middle of their town, and Willadeene adapted to being a part of her new community. Then she grew old, the farm grew wild, and it seemed that maybe it was finally time to sell the farm. But word got around, city dwellers pitched in to keep the place running, and the farm was still not for sale. A punchy text that highlights one woman’s perseverance as well as the good will of her neighbors is charmingly complemented by illustrations with a modernized primitive feel. Peopled with an array of pleasingly stylized, multicultural characters, the book’s backgrounds and images of vegetable plots are rich with patterns that bring to mind textile prints. Koon lets the pictures quietly convey the appeal of the colorful farm amidst the gray buildings of the city.