Stephen Butler

I enjoyed this story that tells the message that having patience will lead to being rewarded, for two main reasons. I really liked all of the colorful illustrations of the different farm animals in the story and different ways the illustrations were presented in the book. Some of the illustrations were full page, some only most of the page, and specifically, there were sequences of picture on one page to show animals doing movements, which I feel added to the readers understanding. For instance, a sequence of three pictures across a page depict a hen tripping and falling, and the way the images were presented made it easy for the reader to see the motion of the hen, adding value to the story through these images. I also enjoyed the progression of the plot of more and more animals coming to try and get the apple from the tree. Each animal brought a new, fun aspect to the story, and as the plot progressed with the animals all leaving, it helped tell the message of the story. The author's use of this plot progression successfully and clearly explained to readers that the only animal who was patient, reaped the rewards.… (more)