For children these stories serve as adventures about farm kids as told by farm kids, and for adults the stories serve as a nostalgic trip back to life the way it was, with all its hard work, imperfections, challenges and fun.

A STORY NOT TOLD IS LOST FOREVER

Witnessing the urbanization of the rural landscape that once defined a way of life for much of Minnesota, I realized that soon no remnants of the farming community would remain.

What would be remembered about the people who lived in the small towns and on farms during the middle of the Twentieth Century? Would their stories go untold? Would the "truth" as told by city folks from publishing houses be fractured and diluted or would the stories generated by the struggles by thousands of rural and small town Americans be simply ignored?

I decided that the local truth about rural America in the middle of the last century should be told and that it needed to told in a factual yet entertaining format. To tackle the task, I created two series of books for children and adults: Farm Country Tales and If I Were A Farmer.

FARM COUNTRY TALES SERIES

Each story in the Farm Country Tales series is an entertaining narrative rhyme, featuring original and colorful illustrations that accurately portray small town and rural life and farm equipment and activities of the times. Stories are based on actual events and offer children and adults of all ages the opportunity to read and enjoy stories that evoke memories for some and serve to inform others of the times in which their parents or grandparents or great grandparents were children. Stories feature the Carlson family members and their interactions with the farm neighborhood and the surrounding small towns during routine and special events.
 
IF I WERE A FARMER SERIES

Each story in the If I Were A Farmer series features a contemporary child with a pet. The child imagines himself or herself as a farmer having an adventure in which he or she is the hero. Each page contains the child’s narration, enhanced by a full-page, colored illustration that clearly displays the action of the adventure and also places both the child and the pet into the action. The prose is aimed at pre-school or K-3, but some farm terminology may need to be explained by an adult.