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Sweet illustrations and cheerful text introduce readers to our friendly farmhouse.
Our Friendly Farmhouse by Melissa Ferguson, illustrated by Gretchen Ellen Powers. Tommy Nelson, 2025. 32 pages.
- Reading Level: Picture books, ages 0-4
- Recommended For: Ages 0-4
It began with a bike ride, an auction sign, and a question: what if?
From there, dreams start becoming reality as a young family buys land and starts the process of building a house and moving out to the country. Gretchen Powers’ charming watercolor-toned illustrations bring the family’s adventure to life. The story, seemingly told by the big brother, shifts from descriptions of planning and building to imaginative rambling as he and his sisters play and daydream. Around them, the land transforms, a farmhouse emerges, and animals start to arrive.
The story’s text is sweet, sometimes almost rhyming. This is certainly a book intended for reading aloud. Occasionally words are italicized and colored for emphasis. While providing visual highlights, there doesn’t seem to be a consistent reason for this decision, and it detracts a bit from the overall composition.
In an overall style evocative of Tasha Tudor, Our Friendly Farmhouse invites readers into the journey and process of building a house and moving out to the country: complete with post office chicks and unexpected kittens. Powers’ illustrations invite reader engagement with a cardinal appearing on each page in addition to other animals: domestic and wild.
Considerations: None.
Bottom Line: Our Friendly Farmhouse is a lovely picture book for families who are planning to build their own houses or start a new chapter moving to the country.
Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader
- Reviews: More picture books about building a home: New House New Home by Megan E. Saben; How Does My Home Work? by Chris Butterworth (not building, but definitely how a home works); and Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
- Reviews: More picture books about houses and the people who live in them: This Is My Home, This Is My School by Jonathan Bean; Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall; House Finds a Home by Katie Duffield; The House That’s Your Home by Sally Lloyd-Jones; and The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton; Houses with a Story by Seiji Yoshida.
- Book Reviews: But wait! There’s more! Home Is in Between by Mitali Perkins; Home Is Right Where You Are by Ruth Chou Simons; Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo; Home by Matt de la Peña.
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