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A generous-hearted farmer, Beau, and his wife, Bamma, are about to get some new additions to their small menagerie. They’ve already taken a big step by adopting Malissa Giraffe, who had been headed to the shelter for abandoned animals when the zoo closed. Malissa has settled in nicely with Kailey Kitten and Sammy Bunny. One night the three decide to sneak out of the barn to go on a great adventure. They find themselves transported to a magic hole in the earth where, in diminutive size, they meet Johnny Elephant, stuck in the abandoned animal shelter after a happy life with Pappy’s Circus. He’s been taking care of Mia Puppy and Kathyanna Calf. Johnny tells the worried visitors from Farmer Beau’s farm how they can get back home and assume their normal size using magic words spoken to the full moon. Malissa decides they must all go, hopeful that Beau and Bamma will welcome the newcomers.
Writer Geiger, who grew up on a farm and still lives on one after a career in education, has created a lovely fantasy for young children that contains some talking points regarding the lives of animals that can be shared by the adults who read the book to them. Soft, emotive illustrations by Adam Musk fill every page, with a special treatment being Johnny’s memory balloon, which depicts his role as a circus performer. Beau and Bamma are conveyed through the author’s conception and the illustrator’s eyes as loving their animal friends and each other as they walk back to their cottage hand-in-hand after preparing comfy places for the new arrivals. Mild hints of the negative atmosphere of the animal shelter provide a framework for further discussion. However, the overarching sense of Geiger’s story centers on the warmth and comfort of ordinary kindness.