Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Life on the Gallagher Farm may seem like any other farm, but what makes it different is the intense love and care that is shared amongst the family, Grandma and Grandpa Gallagher, and their ten children, seven boys and three girls. In Sara Gallagher-Beck’s The Gallagher Farm, a heartwarming, but simple story is shared about Gallagher Farm: its family of children, a white horse named Spot, the longhorn cattle, and the two black labs, Lucky and Lindy. Grandma, Grandpa, and even the animals all have their special attributes. Grandma loves to bake cinnamon rolls and tends to her gardens; Grandpa wears a cowboy hat and looks after the animals. It seems quite ordinary, but there’s always an adventure and life just wouldn’t be the same without a sudden change in the ordinary.

Sara Gallagher-Beck’s picture book, The Gallagher Farm, is a charming children’s story, but also a memoir of sorts. The language is simple to help young readers with their reading skills and the illustrations are both color photographs and artistic renditions of the scenes in the story. Readers will instantly feel like they’re a vital part of the farm and the life and love it nurtures. They will also learn about some of the animals and how to care for them. The farm is full of magic and joy in such a profound way. “Every day was an adventure waiting to happen on the magical Gallagher Farm.” And I love this line: “It was a place where love bloomed.” Beautifully told and illustrated.