Born in New Prague, Minnesota, Gordon W. Fredrickson was raised on a 120-acre dairy farm in hilly, rocky eastern Scott County, and like all the local farm children, he began farm work as a young child. Gordon served in the U. S. Army for three years, earned a Master of Education Degree at the University of Minnesota, and taught high school English for 16 years. During the first five years of teaching, he and his wife Nancy farmed 160 acres in western Minnesota where they raised cattle, hogs and grain. If I Were a Farmer: Field Work was inspired by that farming experience. Other books by Gordon include If I Were a Farmer: Nancy’s Adventure; A Farm Country Christmas Eve; A Farm Country Halloween; and A Farm Country Thanksgiving, which will be out in August. Visit www.gordonfredrickson.com for more information.
For the past 10 years Gordon has been performing his stories for children and adults at museums, senior centers, elementary schools, libraries, threshing shows, club meetings, and churches. In 2004 he and his wife Nancy visited friends in Lyon, France, where Gordon performed for an elementary school in Lyon and one in the mountains of southern France. This year he has been invited to perform at Cobblestone Farms, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In an effort to share local heritage, he has donated many of his books to local elementary school libraries. His goals are to educate and to entertain by telling the local story of rural America and to encourage others to tell their stories because a story NOT told is lost forever.
 If I Were a Farmer: Field Work
Gordon W. Fredrickson
Beaver’s Pond Press (2010)
ISBN 9781592983407
Reviewed by Sophia (age 7) and Madeline (age 9) McElroy for Reader Views (07/10)
Synopsis: Nancy wants to be a farmer. She imagines doing field work with the newest modern farm machines. Her kitty, Dusty, helps her out.
Nancy's neighbor Tommy wants to be a farmer too. He and his dog, Rex,would do their field work with dependable old farm machines.
From tilling through harvest, the neighbors work in fields side by side. They may not agree on the best way of doing field work, but when they get into trouble,they do what all good neighbors do: help each other out.
Listen to interview with Gordon Fredrickson |
Kim Chatel
