Starting with an excitement that can only come from the joy of a new family member this sweet story shows how grief and anger can give way to new hope in the face of family.

Showing the meaning of family and how family is always at your side This Farm is a Family is a great book for all young new readers and young families alike.

I really loved This Farm is a Family by Dan McKernan! This Farm is Family tells the story of Buttercup, the new cow, that comes to the Barn Sanctuary. When Buttercup arrives the other Animals try to make her feel welcome, but Buttercup wants nothing to do with them. Through perseverance, patience, and kindness the Animals do not give up on Buttercup and are there for Buttercup when it’s needed most. I really enjoyed This Farm is Family the message it gives. I highly recommend this book! Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book. My review is also on Goodreads.

These illustrations are just BEYOND adorable! I hope there is a whole series like this! What a beautiful message of community!

Fun farm story for young readers. It was a cheerful story that many youngsters would enjoy. The pictures are also beautifully done.

'This Farm Is a Family' by Dan McKernon is adorable! It has such a wonderful message about love and not giving up and making quick judgments on someone's behavior.

Farmer Dan has a farm sanctuary of rescued farm animals and as Farmer Dan decides to rescue a cow who at first behavior is very challenging to love the farm animals try a lot to have the new cow Buttercup feel comfortable in her new home but she is not having it. But they continue with compassion and powerful empathy and in a time of need for them, Buttercup finally develops a new trust is born in her and it's a wonderful uplifting story of hope and not giving up on others during those challenging times when they are not easy to love.

Beautiful art and even though a complex behavioral common situation is perhaps made a bit simplistic for the age range that this targets it's right on.

The illustrations are great in this book. The idea of giving people grace when they are struggling is an important lesson that is being taught in this book. I also really like that at the end of the book, there is a little blurb about the real Barn Sanctuary with pictures of the animals. I think that children would really enjoy seeing pictures of real animals that the characters in the story are based on.

I love the idea of books built around the stories of farm sanctuaries, but I had trouble with this book taking a while to get to that aspect of the farm. The beginning seemed like an animal sound story, while the second half was a story about family. I think it would have been more effective as one or the other, telling the story of the sanctuary or being a fun animal sound story.

This is a cute little book about a farm sanctuary and rescuing animals. But - it is also a great lesson in making new friends and not being mean to someone who is mean to you first.

Great story for kids with awesome illustrations. I love how it is based on a real animal sanctuary called Barn Sanctuary in Michigan and gives information on how to look them up. The story starts with a mixture of animals who all live at an animal sanctuary as a family. One day they get a new member after her owner passes away, but no matter how much the animals try they can't befriend her. She's scared and coming across as angry. The animals don't give up though, and towards the end she realizes they are there for her and her new family. Great story for anyone feeling scared going into something new, like a new class, new group, new family, etc.

What an ingenious way to introduce kids to farmed animals that needed a new home. Rarely do we think about what happens to them since so many of us do not live on or near farms. Besides understanding all this, it is also an example of how people from various backgrounds can also make up a family even though they’re not related. Graphics/artwork are very realistic.
I received a free copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I loved that this story is based on an actual farm sanctuary! A farm with a variety of animals was taking in an angry cow that belonged to a farmer that recently died. The animals on the farm was so welcoming and inclusive even thought the cow was so grumpy to them all. Eventually the cow warms to the other animals on the farm after a turn of events.

The illustrations was great and vibrant with color, which really captures your attention. The amount of the animals and names involved was little overwhelming but it was well written! This book would be a great story for pre-k or early elementary school which would teach a lesson about empathy and inclusion. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, publisher and the author, in turn for my honest review.

A sweet story based on the Barn Sanctuary in Chelsea Michigan. Buttercup is coming to a new home. The other animals are excited to befriend her but Buttercup is anxious about her new home because of her old home. For all animal lovers, this book is a delight. It shares about empathy and how fear is overcome by love. Love cast out all fear! This is a great example of what that looks like. You and your child will love this sweet story.

A special thank you to Zonderkidz and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

This was a super cute book! It was about someone new coming into the farm family, but their farmer recently passed away, so she didn’t feel safe or trust anyone else. All the farm animals were nice to her, but she was always grumpy. One day, she was stuck, and all the farm animals came to help her. She was so glad and decided to start trusting again because she was part of their family now. I feel like this would be the perfect book for children who are adopted because it talks about fitting in with a new family. It’s also great for young children who love farm animals.

I did attempt to read this book once to my two year old. He liked the beginning where there were all the farm animal sounds, but he quickly decided that he wanted to do something else besides read it. I think it’s probably better for ages 3 to 5.

I liked the story, but I would have liked to know more about why Buttercup felt bad about the farmer dying beyond. Was she sad or scared or what? Other than that, I liked the story. The illustrations work well with the story and you can see the different personalities of the animals.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zonderkidz for a free digital copy.

I thought this story was a very cute tale about found family and what it means to invite people in. But it was lacking any wow factor.

I really liked the mission of the book, I had never really heard of a barn sanctuary before. The story was nice and the illustrations were very cute. I think the one difficulty with the book is the number of characters and the names got a little confusing for my child to follow and it and he tuned out about half way through.

This Farm is a Family is based upon animals living at Barn Sanctuary in Michigan. The back of the book tells about the Sanctuary and gives the website if you want to support them. In this book we meet some of the animals that have been rescued and where they live. It shows them doing things together and living like a family. When Buttercup arrives, she stirs things up. She is not happy and feels abandoned since her previous owner died. She even tries to run away, but gets stuck in the fence. All the other animals come to her aid, and she realizes that she can belong and that she can have friends even though she has not been very pleasant or friendly. Of course messages of kindness, understanding, problem solving and found family are all there along with the ideas of rescuing animals and supporting them. I read this book to my almost 3 year old grandson and although he enjoyed it, the message did not come across to him. He did enjoy seeing all the animals and making animal noises. I reread it to his 5 year old sister, and she loved that the other animals made Buttercup feel happy and welcome. We then went to the website to "meet the animals" and learn more about them. The oldest sauntered over to check that out, then read the book himself. I definitely recommend this one to families interested in animal rescue and farm animals.

This is a sweet book about the animals on the farm of the Barn sanctuary. Farmer Dan takes good care of his animals. There is a new cow coming to the sanctuary to join the other animals. Her name is Buttercup. The animals on the farm were thinking of all the fun things they do to welcome Buttercup to her new home. But Buttercup has other ideas. She was not happy. In fact she scared the animals at the sanctuary. Maybe she is just having a bad day. Let's let her know we are friendly. So they all gave Buttercup a big smile. It didn't work but they kept trying day after day. Then one day Buttercup was gone. We have to find her she is part of our family. They found her and she was stuck. She managed to free herself and she realized that the other animals were sweet and kind.

This story is based on a real Barn Sanctuary in Michigan.

First off, this farm features real rescued farm animals that reside at a place called The Barn Sanctuary that people can donate to and support the efforts. How awesome is that?

I love the vibrant illustrations displayed in "This Farm Is A Family." While at first glance you might think this a book geared towards toddlers and preschoolers, I think kids 4-8 is really more appropriate. This isn't a book about learning farm terms and animal sounds. Rather, it is about showing compassion and kindness to others who are maybe acting out because of fear or anxiety.

Definitely a message that needs to be read in younger elementary classrooms to showcase importance of empathy.

I received an ARC of "This Farm Is A Family" by Dan McKernan in exchange for an honest review.

Dan Mckernan, the author of ‘This farm is a family’ gives a strong message of forgiveness and compassion in such a beautiful way by utilizing the farm animals in this story. I consider this book is a must read for all age groups as mostly everybody struggle with forgiving their neighbors at some point.