Change can be scary! What would you do?
When the old brown barn at the end of the street is torn down to make way for something new, the animals that live there have a choice: They can focus on feeling sad, or make the most of the time they have.
In this delightfully hand-illustrated picture book, children learn a valuable lesson about making the most of the situations we're given.
"Because what these barn critters know, as itinerant as their lives may be, is that there's always cause for celebration, a way to find and focus on glee."
This book also contains scientific information for the animals that live in the old brown barn at the end of the street, including what they eat, where they live, whether they are asleep and awake during the day or the night, and a fun fact! (For example, did you know that barn swallow siblings from the previous year may stick around to help parents raise the next generation of chicks!)
All of this information was provided by a Colorado-based nature and conservation center. By reading this book, kids will also discover some of the different ways that we can live harmoniously with the world around us, and what we can do to help preserve nature. The glossary at the end of the book also helps little ones expand their vocabulary by learning the meaning of words like habitat, omnivore, crepuscular, and diurnal.
One happy reader raved: "What a great story about all of the wildlife that can live in your neighborhood. I especially liked the end when my kids and I were able to read about the scientific breakdowns of each animal. The artwork was also very authentic and unique in this age of AI and computer graphics. You can't go wrong adding this book to your child's collection."
About the Author :
Cheryl Lock has known since the third grade when she read Robert C. O'Brien's "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" that writing - and writing children's books, more specifically - would be in her future. Eventually, she moved to Manhattan to follow her writing dreams, working for newspapers, magazines, and websites. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, Parents, and loads of other places. She lives in Colorado with her husband and three daughters. Cheryl's first children's book - "Grace Retraces Her Day" - was a finalist in the American Writing Awards Children's Book International Competition (adventure category) and in the 2025 Literary Global Children's Book Awards, (realistic Fiction category)! Taylor Miller has always been crafty. She started her artistic endeavors with custom birthday cakes, cool pumpkin carvings, and painting a mountain sunset mural on her front door. This is her first attempt at illustrations, which she painstakingly drew and painted by hand! When she isn't crafting, she enjoys skiing, hiking, and camping in nature with her husband, two sons, and all of the woodland creatures.
