The Little Red Barn

This book is one of the winners of the sixteenth edition of the national “Nati per Leggere” (“Born to Read”) award, an initiative that, since 1999, has promoted high-quality works for very young children, in the pre-school age group, and the practice of reading with adults. The award was established by Regione Piemonte in collaboration with the City of Turin, Fondazione Circolo dei Lettori, the Turin International Book Fair, the Turin Civic Libraries and LiBeR magazine, under the patronage of the Centro per il Libro e la Lettura and the Italian section of IBBY. “Il piccolo fienile rosso”, by the American author and illustrator Kim Crumrine is the latest hardback from the publisher Minibombo. Set on a farm, a place beloved by small children, the story unfolds at bedtime, a moment as daunting in a child’s imagination as it is precious in the bond between children and adults. Crumrine’s illustrations form an apparently constant, dreamlike backdrop: a little stylised, quintessentially American red barn with its door open, with still and quiet all around, save for the slow, sleepy drift of clouds in the sky. First a mouse enters, then two cats, three dogs, four chickens, five pigs: will they all fit in? There’s still room in the little red barn, there’s always room, thanks to the imagination of both the author and the reader. The winner of Ibby Italia Choice 2024 and of the Premio Andersen 2025, Il piccolo fienile rosso also won this year’s Nati per Leggere Award in the Nascere con i libri category (18–36 months), in which it was praised for its ability to “open up to the imagination in the interplay between text and image, skilfully nurturing the child–adult relationship through dialogue, with questions and possible answers.” It is, quite simply, the perfect bedtime read.

Reading age: 18-36 months

Il piccolo fienile rosso
Kim Crumrine
Minibombo, 2024