The Hundred-Year Barn, written by Patricia MacLachlan and illustrated by Kenard Pak. Harper, 2019. $21.99 ages 4 and up

"The barn boards were nailed. The roof shingles were nailed. The sound of hammering echoed in the valley like the beat of music. And after many days, when the building was done, Emma climbed a ladder and placed a pine bough at its peak. Everyone cheered."

One rarely sees a barn like this today. Although I know there are places where barns are built by a community, I have never seen a barn raising and don't often see barns that have stood the test of one hundreds years of existence. This one has done so.

The narrator of the story, now a grown man, informs the reader that the barn was built exactly one hundred years ago ... in 1919. He was a five-year-old boy at the time and was impressed by all he saw. It took a village.

"The hundred-year barn was built one summer in our meadow
with a small stream running through.
It was built by townspeople:
fathers and daughters,
mothers and sons,
grandmothers and grandfathers,
and friends."

Barn building was an important community event. The boy watched with his mother as people worked hard day after day until it was done. They worked through blazing heat, while the children played. While it was happening, his father lost his wedding ring. It was never found. Father joked that not only was he married to his wife, he was now married to the barn as well.

The barn stood in a stately manner on the wide prairie. After it was finished, friends and neighbors gathered for food and a photo. It was a huge undertaking made easier because everyone pitched in to help. Once the inside of the barn was complete, the barn was painted a bold red color on the outside. Through numerous seasons, the barn housed animals, implements and memories to last a lifetime.

The boy grew up, left for school, and came back to help on the family home. Weddings, birthdays, holidays were celebrated, and all manner of animals were welcomed within the barn's walls. It offered warmth and shelter, and withstood the many challenges of seasonal weather. And eventually, it offered up a very special surprise!

Patricia MacLachlan is a skilled and beautifully consistent teller of family stories. Focusing on the barn to tell this one is another example of her ability to inspire her readers to appreciate the many great and small moments in life. Kenard Pak uses watercolor, gouache, pencil, ink, and digital media to show farm life across wide landscapes and in quiet moments at every turn of the page.