Big red barns, tractors, and farm animals make for fantastic farm stories for preschoolers! Take a peek at 15 of our favorite farm stories. Check your library for these and other farm books. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program. If you buy a book through one of my links, then I get a small percentage of the sale (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy Reading!
15 Farm Stories for Preschoolers
1. Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm by Joy Cowley–
In this story, the farm animals don’t want to take a bath! They decide to leave Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s farm and her bathtub and head to the city. Turns out the city really isn’t the place for farm animals. Preschoolers will giggle at the animals trying to get dinner in the restaurant, and getting really messy in the hardware store. The animals begin to think that maybe Mrs. Wishy-Washy and her bathtub are not so bad after all. In the end, Mrs. Wishy-Washy comes to the rescue and the animals happily return home to the farm and jump in the bathtub.
2. Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown–
I read this one every year to my preschool group. It is a simple, yet engaging story about animals on a farm. Full of cute pictures, baby animals, and lots of animal sounds, this book will delight toddlers and preschoolers.
3. Farm Friends by Jack Redwing —
In this adorable, lift-the-flap board book, preschoolers will follow the green John Deere tractor around the farm. The tractor will introduce the reader to all of the adorable farm animals that live there. Young children love lift-the-flap books and farm animals, so this a winning combo!
4. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cow by Lucille Colandro–
Lucille Colandro’s “There was an Old Lady” series is a favorite with preschoolers. The old lady is ridiculously silly and the children love to laugh at her rhyming antics and say “you can’t do that!” In this farm-themed story, the old lady swallows a cow, some hay, a pig, duck, horse, sheep, and a fiddle! Why is she swallowing all of these things? To have a barn dance, of course.
5. Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano —
This is the hilarious story of a turkey who tries numerous disguises in order to avoid becoming Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey lives on a farm with several other animals and Turkey gets an idea to dress up as these animals and try to blend in with them. Each farm animal costume that turkey tries fails to completely disguise him! Just when it seems that all hope is lost, Turkey gets his best disguise of all! You will laugh when you see turkey’s brilliant costume idea!
6. Duck on a Bike by David Shannon–
One day Duck sees a bike parked by the farm and decides to give bike-riding a try. The other farm animals think this is one of the silliest things they have ever seen. But as Duck’s riding improves, the animals are impressed. When a group of children all ride up to the farm and leave their bikes outside, all of the animals hop on! The pictures add to the humor of this silly story and you’ll find yourself giggling alongside your child.
7. What the Ladybug Heard by Julia Donaldson —
My son loves ladybugs and was really excited to read this story about two robbers who are outsmarted by the ladybug. In this rhyming story, all of the farm animals follow ladybug’s plan to thwart two thieves from stealing the farmer’s prize cow. This book is so funny and has great pictures that my son loves looking at.
8. Doug Unplugs on the Farm by Dan Yaccarino—
Doug and his robot family are traveling through the countryside to visit Doug’s grandbots. The family plugs into the car to receive knowledge about farms, and Doug gets lots of interesting farm facts. However, when the car gets stuck and Doug gets to explore an actual farm, he finds that hands-on experiences are way more fun! Doug combines his new knowledge with the farm facts that he learned to help free the family car.
9. Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson —
This is one of my son’s favorite books. I think we both have it memorized now! It is a super cute book about what foods farm animals like to eat. They are all very predictable except for the cow, who loves cookies! Preschoolers will love the rhyming, the repetition, and the fun sounds. Read this to find out why cow loves cookies so much. Karma Wilson is a very popular author, so your local library will probably have this book.
10. Click, Clack, Peep by Doreen Cronin–
We love the “Click Clack” series and both of us giggle over these books. In Click, Clack, Peep a cute, little baby chick can’t sleep. Its little peeps keep all of the farm animals awake. They try everything to get some sleep, but little chick just can’t fall asleep. Finally Duck has an idea — all baby’s fall asleep in the car, so let’s try a tractor ride! The plan works great and baby chick falls asleep. Unfortunately, Duck fell asleep too, resulting in giggle-worthy destruction. This is one of our favorite farm stories for preschoolers and I’m sure that you and your preschooler will have a great time reading this one. Check you library for this and the others in the “Click Clack” series.
11. Amara’s Farm by JaNay Brown-Wood–
Follow Amara through her farm as she searches for a pumpkin. Amara grows lots of different foods. See how many fruits and vegetables you can name. This story is great way to introduce new foods to your preschooler. Pick one that they haven’t tried before and try it together.
12. Spot Goes to the Farm by Eric Hill —
Spot, a puppy, loves seeing all of the baby animals on the farm! Explore the farm with Spot by lifting the flaps and try to name all of the animals he meets. Simple, short text paired with cute farm animals makes this a great choice for young children who can’t sit still for long stories.
13. 10 Red Apples by Pat Hutchins —
Everyone loves apples, including all of the farm animals. The apple tree starts with 10 red apples on it. Soon, one-by-one, a farm animal comes along and eats an apple off of the tree. The farmer eats the last one, and his wife didn’t get to enjoy a yummy apple! Oh no! Not to worry, the wife knows where to find more. This story has bright pictures, large, bold numbers on each page, and makes it easy for preschoolers and kindergartners to practice counting apples.
14. Before We Eat: From Farm to Table by Pat Brisson–
This book gives a great look at how food gets to grocery stores. It has short, rhyming sentences and detailed illustrations that are perfect for young children. This book is a loving tribute to all of the work that goes into providing the food that we eat. It shows the effort farmers put into growing food and tending livestock, the hard work of fishermen, and all of behind the scenes work of packing and transporting the food.
15. Hurry! Hurry! by Eve Bunting —
Rooster is so excited that his baby chick is about hatch! He goes running through the farm years yelling, “Hurry! Hurry!” so that all of the animals will be able to witness the birth. The farm animals are quick to comply and everyone makes to the barn in time to see the baby chick pecking it’s way out of the egg. This book only has 2 words per page and relies heavily on the pictures to help convey the urgency. Preschoolers will get caught up in the excitement of the new baby coming.
More Farm Fun!
- Worksheet: Try this Farm I Spy and count the farm pictures and write how many you find of each picture.
- Rhyme: Read the Hello Farm Animals rhyme with your child.
- Hatching Chick Craft: Use a paper plate and construction paper to create a cute hatching chick craft with your preschooler.
- Apple Craft: build fine motor skills with this tissue paper apple craft.
- Farmer Puppet: turn a paper bag into a farmer puppet with this free template.
