Best worst farmer ever by Pat Cummins & Michael Wagner & Louis Shea

Dad, farmer Pat, along with his son, Albie and dog, Normie set out to repair some of the things happening on their farm. From the start, Albie notices the cows have been able to bypass the fence repairs to get to the other side and eat the pasture. The previous repairs: sticky tape, ice block sticks and bark did not work, so Farmer Pat has an idea which involves collecting lots of yellow things. They then build a fence with all the yellow things, and being Pat Cummins, it contains lots of cricket paraphernalia. They test by moving the cows towards the fence, relying on the idea that cows do not like yellow. And it works! Next Albie notices that the sheep are acting oddly. Pat sees that their water trough is leaking and they set off to the shed to bring back something to stop the leak. Pat blows up the paddle pool and they line the water trough with it, stopping the leaks. An old boat takes their interest, Farmer Pat was always going to set that up as a treehouse. So they set about doing just that. But in the tree house, Farmer Pat spies another problem.

Birds are eating all the apples in the apple orchard. Farmer Pat knows just what to do, and the pair run between the lines of trees with sheets trailing behind them. The scared birds fly away. They sit down with Farmer Becky for lunch and she bemoans that she has lost her yellow gardening gloves. Farmer Pat and Albie look a little embarrassed. But all is well on the farm, things have been repaired, the sheep are playing cricket, there are lots of Australian animals dotted through the illustrations, and references to cricket, of course.

A rollicking story about the closeness between father and son, as they work together to fix some of the problems on their farm. It is a wonderful read aloud which will elicit lots of laughter as readers see the problems and the zany ideas to repair things. Bright illustrations cover each page, ensuring kids attention as they listen to the story. Readers will notice all the Australian animals, the breadth of things done on the farm, the strength of the father-son relationship, and laugh along with the antics of the two. Kids will not be able to stop themselves roaring around the room, emulating Pat and Normie as they frighten away the birds in the apple orchard. And they will be able to make their own yellow fence, gathering all the yellow things they can find.

A lovely warm story about a father and son working together to solve problems on the farm, infused with lots of humour, impelling kids to join in.

Themes: Father and son, Farming, Problem solving, Cricket, Humour.

Fran Knight