In the children’s picture book “Night Fell at Harry’s Farm” by author/illustrator Carey Hedlund, we read about a family’s fun night away from home. It’s told in first person, so we’ll proceed in that tense.
We received an invitation to go to Harry’s farm for dinner. We all got ready and drove from our city home out to the country. There were a lot of confusing signs, and we got lost. One street was blocked because of a fire. When we asked directions, we could tell which wrong turn we’d taken.
At last we knew which way to go. We drove past another farm, and just as the sun set, we reached Harry’s house. The TV was on, but that was the only light in the house. A sign on the door told us to go around back, so we did, and there was Harry. He was cooking our dinner outside on the grill. There were hot dogs and hamburgers, and it smelled delicious.
The fireflies came out as we were eating, and we enjoyed watching them. Then we told scary stories and danced around the fire. It got to be really late, so we stayed over, sleeping in Harry’s old cars. That was fun.
The next morning we had a wonderful, home-cooked country breakfast before heading back to our home in the city.
This children’s story book is very simple in plot, word choice, and illustrations, but it shows the young reader the differences between city and country living, and the joy of being with friends and family to share a good meal and a lot of laughs. You won’t find cliff hangers on each page and you won’t be breathless with anticipation—rather, the story has a relaxing, rhythmic tone and I’d recommend it for a bedtime read-a-loud.
(This story was published in 1997 by Greenwillow Books.)
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