Rescued farm animals come to life in a magical celebration of Christmas. It all starts with the first Thanksgiving feast on the farm. The fun time continues when the farm animals go to a Christmas party. After making snow wings and decorating the barn for the holidays, it’s time for the farm animals to go to bed while magical things begin to happen... not only reindeer can fly at this magical time of the year. Fun! Magical! Entertaining!
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**My thoughts**
What stands out to me the most with this book are the illustrations. They brought a smile to my face and elicited a chuckle here and there. They're collages of real photos of real animals and some remind me of those candid shots on cameras that are posted outside. I think they are so much fun and are the biggest draw.
The story itself is simple, following the animals on the farm from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Thought bubbles illustrate what the animals may be thinking. I think when reading this book with young children, I would probably skip over some of those unless it was a one-on-one reading session and they wanted to know what they said. They'd make more sense to older children.
It's not going to top my Christmas classics list, but it is fun to look through the pictures and to talk about what's going on in them. And I appreciate that they are all real animals who have been rescued. The authors help to make the book more interactive by encouraging readers to go back and find each animal. I'd recommend getting a print copy!
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
About the authors:
About Stephanie MatolyakStephanie is a top rated Realtor in northeastern PA. For many years she has been living her dream on a farm in the country. She brings her “Personal Touch” to her real estate business by creating an annual Christmas card based on her farm which all of her clients look forward to every year. “a farm animals’ christmas!-no ordinary farm” is a culmination of these Christmas card masterpieces over the years.
Her clients, their families and friends enjoy visits to Stephanie's Farm, interacting with a large assortment of animals that
Stephanie has rescued. Real Estate and animals are her passion and they both flourish in this amazingly beautiful northeastern, PA environment.
Originally from Johnstown, PA, Stephanie grew up as a competitive gymnast. She then moved to New York City to pursue her study of dance, acting and the big stage! The new aerobic dance craze took Stephanie to Italy, opening aerobic studios throughout Italy. Upon returning to NYC, Stephanie worked with developers designing and managing private health clubs in the new high-rise condominium buildings.
As a business owner of "Spa Finders" came an exciting career in the health spa industry, publishing a magazine and setting up spa networks around the world.
Throughout her different careers, Stephanie enjoyed investing in real estate. Among one of her purchases was her farm in NE PA which she used as a weekend getaway from Manhattan. Soon it became harder to leave this paradise to go back to the city, thus she stayed and started her very successful real estate career and the procession of rescued animals.
About Deborah BaileyDeborah Bailey and her design agency have received many graphic design awards and honors over the years. She is the creative artist behind Stephanie Matolyak’s custom “Stephanie’s Farm” annual Christmas Cards for her real estate business. Teaming up with Stephanie Matolyak to write and illustrate A Farm Animals’ Christmas; No Ordinary Farm was just a natural fit for her. With her love of graphic design and animals, especially her dog Petey, a Chiweenie, who she rescued in 2016, Deborah sets the backdrop of A Farm Animals’ Christmas; No Ordinary Farm, with silly photo illustrations bringing any young reader into the world of rescued animals having a good time and waiting for Christmas. Every page is brimming with color and her collages of “real” pictures of animal action, with delightfully funny scenes.
Deborah has sat on many business and non-profit organizational boards throughout her career, currently sits on the Board of Trustees of Lackawanna College, volunteers in her community, and owns and publishes a Pocono Mountain, PA favorite entertainment and recreation magazine since 1998.