Post by Farmgurl1 » 17 Feb 2018, 13:28

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Barnyard Buddies STOP for Peace" by Julie Penshorn.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The book The Barnyard Buddies STOP for Peace by Julie D. Penshorn is a children’s book that uses loveable barnyard animals to teach important lessons to children about anger management and controlling emotions. 

The book starts out with a barnyard full of animals that are in the rain. King, the horse, is under the cover and the other animals are sitting out in the rain. They become angry and have emotional outbursts, because they feel like King is being selfish and getting everything and they are stuck in the rain. The wise owl Mrs. McCloud speaks up and gets the animals to STOP, calm down and talk about their feelings. 

The animals are then able to rationally discuss the situation, calm down and figure out a plan so that they do not get angry next time if a similar situation arises. They end up all snuggling up together under the shelter and sharing when they realize each one really wants the same thing. They are all friends and want to take care of each other and share. 

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I really enjoyed this book. It hits the nail on the head when dealing with the raw emotions of children and teaching them how to control their anger outbursts. I actually sat down with my 4-year-old and we read the book together. She had an anger outburst earlier in the day and we were able to read the book and talk about how she could have handled her emotions in a different way. The idea to STOP and take a breath and then tell someone what she needs instead of yelling and having a tantrum is a great way to teach emotional management and respect. 

In summary, I think the book does a great job with using the barnyard animals to convey an important lesson for children to learn in a fun way. As a parent reading this book with my child, it gave me the opportunity to discuss the characters in the book and how she thought they should handle their anger differently so it wasn’t about me scolding her. Then we could go back and relate how she reacted earlier in the day and how she could have also handled it differently like the barnyard animals. I would definitely recommend this book to parents with young children to use as teaching tool. My daughter is already asking me to read her the book again.

Raya raymond

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Review by Raya raymond -- The Barnyard Buddies STOP for ...

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Post by Raya raymond » 23 Aug 2018, 15:45

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Barnyard Buddies STOP for Peace" by Julie Penshorn.]
4 out of 4 starsShare This Review

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The Barnyard Buddies STOP for Peace is a children’s book that focuses on conflict resolution. It portrays the STOP method of resolving conflict through a story based on animal characters, who are friends and live in a Barnyard. On that day it rains and the friends have nowhere to take shelter. They all get soaking wet and angry because one of the animals- King, has taken up all the space there is to take shelter. The animals complain among themselves but that gives them no solution. Their wise Friend Mrs. McCloud, an owl, comes to their aid and tells them about the STOP conflict resolution method.
S- Stop and breathe
T- Tell how you feel
O- Open your mind
P- Plan a deal

The Barnyard Buddies STOP for Peace is an illustrated children’s book; it focuses on mentoring its audience on ways in which they can and should manage their anger and emotions, before addressing the situation that makes them feel that way. I think this is very helpful information to children; the way the book is illustrated is attractive and very likely to grasp children’s attention easily, and influence their future decisions. It’s an excellent choice for a read-out-loud book for parents who want a book to read with their children, that has a moral lesson in it.

I love the idea of oh-so-wise Mrs. McCloud intervening in this situation. I think it conveys a message to the children that it’s a good thing to seek advice, from someone who is wiser and older than them. This is one of the most educating children’s books I’ve come across; it was so much fun to read and I appreciate that. The illustrations are very well drawn; I loved them. I think Jorry Keith, the Illustrator, did an impeccable job with them and drew them in just the right way.

My favorite thing about this book is that I learned some lessons from it too. I think the STOP method would not only be helpful to children but also to people of all age groups. The book also has a lesson that we shouldn’t just assume things about people or read their minds, because this can lead to misunderstandings. This lesson is learned through the animals’ assumptions about King without asking first. It’s always best to ask.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because it is an enjoyable read, and the perfect book for children. I love the illustrations and I think the author couldn’t have chosen a better story, or a better way to tell it to deliver the STOP lesson to children. Anyone who reads this book would have a lot to gain from it, but the way the story is written and illustrated is better suited for parents and kids. I love the fact that a simple book has become a whole mentoring program for children. I found nothing to dislike about this amazing book. I therefore recommend this book to children and their parents to read out loud together. I’m sure they’ll have even more fun reading it together.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

The Barnyard Buddies Stop for Peace by Julie Penshorn is a delightful storybook with a good message for young readers. The barnyard is peaceful and everyone is sunbathing. The rains come and everyone but the King complains. They all huddle together to keep warm and Grey Donkey is cross that the King has the best spot. The rest of the animals agree and they all get angry. The King is under the barn roof and they are not. Mrs. McCloud decides to become the peacemaker and she tells the animals to calm down so they can see a way to agree or resolve the problem. Will they be able to solve their problem and promote peace in the barnyard?

The message is relevant and the author puts it across beautifully with the help of animal characters. The illustrations are charming and they not only give the animals personality, but also breathe life into them and the scenes. It is a good story for read aloud and story-telling sessions in classrooms because of the message it conveys. It teaches readers how to express their feelings and communicate properly. The story is good for bedtime story-telling and children will love all the animals. Books with a message and concept like this one are good for children to help them understand the concept and message clearly via a story and interesting characters, as in this one. This is definitely a must-have in all children’s libraries and homes as it helps them to resolve problems in a peaceful manner.