The Hundred-Year Barn

In meditative prose, Newbery-winner MacLachlan commemorates the life of a great barn. Pak (Cat Wishes) pictures the initially youthful narrator in a bright red cap and suspenders ("I was only five years old") watching as the barn is raised by neighbors and family members--grainy, ghostly figures against sepia tones. The narrator's father loses his wedding ring somewhere in the confusion, and the group feasts to celebrate their finished work, then poses for a group photograph. The narrator's father announces a toast: "The barn will be called the hundred-year barn." Lyrical writing conveys the slow passage of time ("Seasons went by. The cows were milked"). Pak lingers over the barn's livestock and its cathedral-like interior. The boy eventually marries (his red cap is larger now), the barn becomes his, and one day, he finds the lost wedding ring in an unexpected place. MacLachlan and Pak invite readers into the rhythms of the small family farm and important moments, small and great, over a century of its life. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. Illustrator's agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Productions. (Sept.)

K-Gr 2--MacLachlan's gift for portraying bucolic bliss returns in this account of a 1919 barn raising and the narrator's experiences with the building as years pass. When Jack is five, his community gathers for the framing, building, raising, and painting of what his father dubs the Hundred-Year Barn. Meanwhile, youngsters play in a stream, chow down at celebration feasts, and share scary story at sleepovers in the barn. The narrator ages, assuming tasks of responsibility for the structure and its residents. Sweeping the barn as an adult, Jack discovers a fallen nest containing the wedding ring his father lost during the barn build. Pak applies gouache, pencil, ink, and digital media for folksy illustrations that offer warm gold overtones, and complement the narrator's ever-red cap. Fox, possum, cat, dog, and mouse each meander into the story with winsome expressions, adding to the serene mood. VERDICT This story's poetry and pace are mellow, ideal for a quiet time.--Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA