"You are so smart and caring, and I love you very much. Good boy, Archie!"
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Bobby and The Well by Donna Christie Trafford Publishing
book review by Mihir Shah
While all the farm animals are quietly asleep, Bobby the goat catches a glimpse of lightning. Clearly agitated, he slips through the slightly open barn door, and finds himself, with mud-soaked hooves, alone amidst a downpour of rain and thunder. In his haste to redirect himself toward the barn, he takes a tumble into the icy waters of a nearby well. In the meantime, Archie the horse, stirs awake and notices the absence of his friend. Archie is frantically looking around when he hears Bobby's scream and sets off to rescue him.
Christie's children’s story revolves around unconditional friendship and innocence, two traits that kids strongly exhibit. Interestingly, the paragraph structure followed by a picture-perfect illustration of the text perks both the auditory and visual interests of the reader. Sensory details like the rain, thunder, and muddy roads build a vivid image of the environment in the audience's mind. In addition to child-like friendship and innocence among the animals, the author also portrays a unique human-animal relationship. For instance, John and Tracy, along with their son Adam, get up in the middle of the night at the sound of Archie's hooves smacking the door. By sending Adam into the well to retrieve Bobby, John and Tracy prove that Bobby is family, just like everyone else on the farm.
An excellent story for team building, cooperation, and loyalty, Bobby and the Well should be used by teachers in all K-3 classrooms, and is a perfect bedtime story for parents to read to their children.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review