Tales of the Dairy Godmother: Chuck’s Ice Cream Wish  by Viola Butler

Back in March, American Farm Bureau Foundation's publishing venture, Feeding Minds Press, released this book. Both Krista Stauffer (The Farmer's Wifee) and Tara Vander Dussen (New Mexico Milkmaid) were invited to promote the book with giveaways.

"This is a super cute story that keeps kids engaged while including how milk goes from cow to ice cream," Stauffer said. "I highly recommend it."

"It is a great story about all the hard work that goes into making one scoop of ice cream," Vander Dussen said. "It shows children exactly what has to be done on a dairy farm to take care of the cows and how to milk the cows. In the back of the book, it has some great resources and websites where you can learn more. It also shares an amazing homemade ice cream recipe!"

Farm Nursery Songs by Jessica Peters

"This one is a book filled with classic nursery rhythms, but with amazing farm lyrics," Vander Dussen said. "These songs were written by an actual dairy farmer, Jessica Peters, which is pretty awesome! This is the book my girls request every single night before bed. They have whole dance routines played for each song. It’s pretty fun to watch!"

Baby’s Very First Slide and See Farm by Fiona Watt from Usborne Books

"What I love about this book is that the milking machines actually look like real milking machines," Vander Dussen said. "This book is perfect for children under two since it's a board book with great slide and see activities."

The Calf on my Farm by Stephanie White

"We love this beautiful book about life on a farm raising a calf," Vander Dussen said. "Throughout this book, the author shares amazing facts about dairy farming, agriculture and more! And in the back of the book, we had the opportunity to share some of our photos and a little bit about life on our farm."

For even more dairy-friendly book ideas for June Dairy Month, check out Minnesota dairy farmer Janet Bremer's book series. She describes the project in her latest HERd management column, “Story time is a blessing.” 

Editor's note: Tara Vander Dussen's book comments were reprinted with permission from her blog.

PHOTO 1: Tales of the Dairy Godmother: Chuck’s Ice Cream Wish is available from Feeding Minds Press, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture’s publishing venture. Photo courtesy Feeding Minds Press.

PHOTO 2: Jessica Peters’ Farm Nursery Songs is meant to get you singing. Check out videos of Peters singing at Spruce Row Farm’s Facebook page. Photo from Amazon.

PHOTO 3: Dairy farmer Tara Vander Dussen is particularly excited that the milking machines are realistic in this baby board book. Photo from www.myubam.com

PHOTO 4: The Calf on my Farm is “about life on a farm raising a calf," Vander Dussen said. Photo courtesy of Tara Vander Dussen.