City Farm

With vegetable-hued artwork that nods to folk art motifs and patchwork quilts, Koon (The Struggle Bus) tells the story of Willadeene, a farmer portrayed with brown skin, who tends her land in “the wide-open middle of nowhere.” When a pale-skinned developer covets her property (“He bribed. He threatened. He lied”) and Willadeene adamantly refuses to sell, he builds a noisy, bustling city around her land. But instead of following the trajectory of Virginia Lee Burton’s The Little House, Willadeene’s farm becomes a treasured city oasis, in which neighbors gather and community flourishes. Though the farmer once enjoyed her solitude, she now, “to her surprise,” relishes selling vegetables to city folk, portrayed with various skin tones, and exchanging waves with the bus driver. And when advancing years finally force Willadeene to consider the heartbreaking sale of her farm, the community she has nurtured steps forward in this tale of supportive resilience that’s both personal and communal. Ages 5–9. (Nov.)