A farm theme can be great at any time of year, but I especially love a farm animal theme in the spring. Here are our favorite books for a farm animal theme.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).
Just choose books based on your child’s age and what you think will engage your child’s interest. I recommend checking out the “Read sample” feature on Amazon and reading reviews there. Another place to learn about a book is on YouTube. You can typically see the entire book there.
Montessori-friendly books use photos or realistic illustrations. They don’t have talking animals or a lot of fantasy. But many books that have fantasy and talking animals are wonderful books, and I love sharing them with children who understand the difference between fantasy and reality.
For toddlers and preschoolers, about ¾ of the books I use are typically Montessori friendly (focusing on reality without smiling or talking animals or smiling or talking vehicles).
Books for a Farm Animal Theme
Books for a Farm Animal Theme
I’m featuring books here for a farm animal theme mainly for toddlers through elementary-age kids.
Top Shelf of Forward -Facing Display:
- DK Smithsonian Picturepedia (beautiful photos and a fabulous reference book I use for many, many units!) has a very informative and appealing two-page spread about farm animals.
- My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things is a great first encyclopedia for a variety of topics!
2nd Shelf:
- Eric Carle’s Around the Farm (The book has sound buttons for bull, cow, goat, pig, sheep, lamb, donkey, horse, hen, turkey, chick, rooster, cat, dog, mouse, frog, duck, turtle, fish, crow, sparrow, owl, woodpecker, snake, rabbit, cricket, dragonfly, bee, butterfly, and the very hungry caterpillar. The turtle, fish, butterfly, and caterpillar make fun sounds but don’t actually make the sounds of those animals. The rest of the buttons make realistic animal sounds. My 22-month-old granddaughter LOVES this book!)
- National Geographic Kids Farm Animals has easy-to-understand facts and gorgeous photographs. It’s Montessori friendly, of course!
3rd Shelf:
4th Shelf:
- A Home in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
- The Perfect Nest
- I LOVE sing-along books, and so do all my grandkids. They were always popular when I was a Montessori teacher, too.
Had a Little Roster adapted by John M Feierabend illustrates a fun, classic song and has a free MP3 you can download from the publisher, GIA Publications, Inc. Toddlers will often join in on the animal sounds.
Bottom Shelf:
- Silly Farm: An Easy Read Picture Book for Kids is pretty much what the title says. It’s a Montessori-friendly book that’s especially good for toddlers, young preschoolers, and children learning to read who’ll benefit from one sentence per page.
- Two classic and endearing Montessori-friendly books, Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm and The Year at Maple Hill Farm, were originally published in 1974 and 1978. I used them in my Montessori school in the 1980s and with my now-adult kids!
In another book basket:
I absolutely love the Barefoot Books sing-along books! They include CDs and are favorites of my toddler grandkids. At least one of the books is requested daily or almost daily. (Note: many of the singalongs are available in Spanish!) The sing-along books aren’t Montessori-style books because of smiling animals, etc., but they’re lots of fun and often teach concepts as well as being an engaging singing activity.
Driving My Tractor is a fun sing-along and includes counting animals from 1-5.
The Farmyard Jamboree is a fun sing-along inspired by a Chilean folktale and includes counting by 2s.
Books from these blog posts:
- The Best Farm Books for Kids
- The Best Duck and Duckling Books for Kids
- Favorite Books for a Horse Theme
- Free Lamb Printables and Montessori-Inspired Lamb Activities
You can see lots of farm animal books for kids here.
More Farm Resources
Farm Set with Barn and Animals on Amazon
Montessori-Friendly Farm Products on Etsy
Montessori-Inspired Farm Animal Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my newsletter to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Don’t miss our themed monthly packs! You’ll get the link and password for the Living Montessori Now subscriber library with the current pack and all the past monthly packs if you subscribe to the Living Montessori Now weekly newsletter!
Free Farm Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities
Free Farm Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Farm Unit
- Free Farm Songs and Educational Videos
- Montessori-Inspired Farm Unit {Hundreds of Resources}
- Montessori-Inspired Corn Unit
- Safari Ltd. Farm TOOBS and Keys
- Free Farm Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities Using Farm Replicas and Printables
- 40+ Farm Sensory Tub
- Inexpensive, Simple-to-Prepare Montessori Grammar Farm
- Montessori-Inspired Farm Animal Matching/Vocabulary for Babies and Toddlers
- Farm, Zoo, & Ocean Animal Sensory Bottles for Babies and Toddlers
- Montessori-Inspired Horse Unit
- Story Stones – Farm Animal Families Treasure Basket
- Free Lamb Printables and Montessori-Inspired Lamb Activities
- Free Lamb Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Lamb Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Montessori-Inspired Farm Unit {Hundreds of Resources}
- The Montessori Grammar Farm for Learning Grammar the Hands-on, Fun Way
- Free Duckling Printables and Montessori-Inspired Duckling Activities
- Free Make Way for Ducklings Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- The Best Duck and Duckling Books for Kids
- Fun 100 Board Extension – Count 100 Ducks {Free Printable}
- Free Duckling Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Farm Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Farm Unit
- Free Farm Songs and Educational Videos for Kids
- Free Farm Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Farm Animal Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- The Best Farm Books for Kids
- Free Oviparous Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Oviparous Animal Activities
- Free Oviparous Animal Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Egg Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Oviparous Animal Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download
- Free Farmers Market Printables and Montessori-Inspired Farmers Market Activities
- Favorite Books for a Farmers Market Theme
- Free Horse Printables and Montessori-Inspired Horse Activities
- Favorite Books for a Horse Theme
- Free Horse Songs and Educational Videos
- Farm Unit Study Pinterest Board
I hope you enjoy reading about farm animals!
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