Hello, friends! Our book today is Turkey Goes To School, written by Wendi Silvano and illustrated by Lee Harper, fifth in the pair’s series featuring the shenanigans of Turkey and his barnyard friends.

Farm kids Max and Millie are preparing excitedly for the first day of school, but even more excited are their collection of livestock, who seem convinced that they will be attending school alongside the children. After all, the first week’s theme is “Farm Days”; who wouldn’t want such a clever and curious group of farm animals to join in the educational fun? Yet when the animals line up to board the bus on the first day, they are denied! Finding their own way to school, the team plots ways to sneak into the classroom and partake of the learning, most centered around Turkey disguising himself with a series of (almost) convincing getups. But as each attempt fails, the animals begin to lose heart… until Turkey comes up with one last foolproof plan.

Silly fun. Fans of Silvano and Harper’s series will recognize the plot structure, in which Turkey and pals attempt to solve a problem through Turkey’s laughably lackluster disguises; the scenes in which the costumes are being prepared are especially humorous, using clever visual gags to up the absurdity. The text is pun-HEAVY, with mixed success; some elicited a giggle, some are groan-worthy. Harper’s ink and watercolor illustrations are colorful, and the animal characters are very endearing, though the human characters are occasionally… oddly proportioned. The length is fine for a storytime, and JJ enjoyed it, especially the sing-along portion (though she was put out that the author’s lyrical twist on “Old MacDonald” did not finish the musical phrase – I was strongly encouraged to go back and finish the song before she would allow the story to continue). Overall, this is a slightly uneven effort, but has enough heart, humor, and fun to make for an entertaining read. Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by a representative of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)