The Farmer's Boy

In this lovely children's book, The Farmer's Boy (for the edification of a pretty lass) lists the various animals he has tended and their characteristic sounds. Beginning with horses, he names his charges one by one, not neglecting, each time a new creature appears, to go back over all its predecessors, mimicking their quacks, grunts, baas, et cetera. The chorus of noises grows quite rapidly, in a manner that (paired with the quiet contentment of Caldecott's illustrations) will bring a smile to any reader's face. A book to return to again and again.