Reviews & Testimonials
"The creative use of black-and-white photos with art is visually curious and eye-catching. Fletcher uses family photos in two techniques: Actual photos are mounted with corner tabs to resemble a photo album, while photographic rectangles appear cut out and inserted into the pastel drawings, continuing the drawn lines and creating the effect of binoculars focusing on an image and sharpening it. A note from the author, one-page glossary and one page of farming websites make this purposeful and suited to a unit on rural life."
-Kirkus Reviews
"This nonfiction picture book, I Grew Up On A Farm, is a wonderful teaching guide about life on a farm in New York State. After finishing this book many readers will be reminded of the days when childhood play was meaningful, because although I Grew Upon On A Farm is about work and childhood, there is a great deal of fun, play, and meaning in its thirty-two pages...
Although the farm was in upstate New York, it seems to belong everywhere. There are still small farms across the country, and elsewhere in the world where a child’s joy are timeless, natural joy such as catching snakes, sleeping out under the stars, bonding with and feeding animals, sledding down a snowy hill, riding the family horses, driving tractors, and helping one’s parents make a living...
The pastel and photo illustrations, along with old newspaper clippings, create a nostalgic dreamscape of family Americana, filled with love and togetherness.
The book comes with an excellent four page Teacher guide which suggests topics for discussions, activities, and research which will help young students interact with the book. I highly recommend this book for young readers."
-Carole McDonnell, Preschool Entertainment
"I can almost smell the apple pie! I Grew Up On A Farm is incredibly detailed with wonderful photos full of warm feelings and comfort. As an educator, I found the Teacher’s Guide is incredibly useful."
-Rose Huston, Book Reviewer, Submitted to Amazon and B&N
"This book is a treasure and a way for children to relate to living on a farm over fifty years ago, comparing it to how different things are today. I Grew Up On A Farm is a delight that parents and grandparents will want to share with young readers in their lives."
-Melissa Parcel, BookLoons Reviews
"This is definitely a fresh idea on a learning children's book....Author, Alan K. Lewis, tells the reader of his life growing up on a farm..... Not only are there great illustrations, but the author has incorporated some real pictures of himself and his family during his childhood living on the farm. Excellent.
This is a great read, a great story..."
-Shirley P. Johnson, Amazon.com
"a kind & gentle tale of memories & photographs of a time long since past -- fifty years ago when many American children still lived & worked on farms.... a time capsule for those of us still living close to the earth, still collecting eggs from nests, carrying slops out to the sty & selling what you grew at your roadside stall. For those city born & raised critters, reading it on those days when the surrounding cement has you all hemmed in, it will give you an idea of the fun & joy of what once was -- the American family farmer who fed us all, with much more than just good food."
-Rebecca Brown, Rebecca Reads
"Author Alan K. Lewis knows all about the sweetness of childhood and life on a farm-he grew up on one. In his sweet picture-book memoir I Grew Up On a Farm, he speaks from the heart of rural America, of a father's tractor that popped a wheelie in the ditch, of cousins from the city who came to his farm to catch crickets and grasshoppers, of winter fun and Mom's hot cocoa that she made after a day of chores... Children will enjoy Lewis's recollections, especially accompanied by photos of a three-room schoolhouse, winter on the farm, and his childhood horse, Stormy. The illustrator, Bob Fletcher, artfully captures the look of the farm, and his drawings make a collage when combined with Lewis's childhood photos... The tales of farm chores, raising livestock and carrying pails of slop for the pigs, will inspire kids to ask questions. This heartwarming book includes Web links for parents and children to explore as well as a teacher's guide."
-Christina Lewis, MyShelf.com
"Treat your youngsters to a glimpse of a rapidly vanishing slice of Valley life by giving them a copy of I Grew Up On A Farm... it’s one of the finest [Hudson] Valley-related children’s books we’ve seen in ages."
-Reed Sparling, Hudson Valley Magazine Testimonials
“Alan Lewis's wonderful new children's book, I Grew Up On A Farm, based on his memories of growing up on a dairy farm in Middletown, New York, has just been published. It's lovingly crafted in the same spirit as American Farm.”
—James Spione American Farm, Filmmaker www.americanfarmmovie.com
“I Grew Up On A Farm uses a perfect integration of words, photography, and artist renderings to capture the mind of the reader and transport them to rural America.”
—Debbie Bloom, 2nd Grade Teacher
“Children need to read about a quieter time when nature filled their day, and their feet touched the earth.”
—Judy Martin, Librarian
“I Grew Up On A Farm provides a refreshing approach toward introducing farm life to children and, at the same time, provides a sense of nostalgia to readers of all ages.”
—Mary Margaret Green, Elementary School
All images, illustrations and photographs appearing on this site are the property of Alan K. Lewis, unless otherwise indicated. They are protected by U.S. Copyright Laws, and are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Alan K. Lewis. Copyright © Alan K. Lewis. All Rights Reserved.