I've included shots of a few of the pages so you can see how beautiful they are. The names of all of the farm animals make them come alive, and each has their own distinct personality. It also (quite accurately) teaches the physical characteristics of the animals, right down to the weights of certain dogs, habits of cows, pigs, chickens, etc...
The second book is one that I picked up at our homeschool group's used book sale for $.50. My little guy threw it in the bag and I'm so glad he did. We have read one other Childhood of Famous Americans book - they are wonderful. The one we are reading is Babe Ruth: One of Baseball's Greatest. We are pretty much obsessed with baseball in this house, and even my nine year old daughter loves learning about the game and the greats.
There is just something so appealing about this book - I think it's because Babe and my son are the same age and Babe's thoughts are probably some of the same ones my little guy has.
We also have the Thomas Edison book from this same Childhood of Famous Americans series to use with Beyond Five in a Row (which I have scheduled for next week!).