ALA Booklist (Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

A familiar childhood song gets an African twist in Isadora's latest picture book. She takes readers on safari to the plains of Africa to meet elephants, cheetahs, and dassies ("E-I-E-I-O"). Old Mikamba's farm is a game park, so while there is some interaction between the two small children in the book and the animals, most of them are presented against a backdrop wilder and freer than any space Old MacDonald could offer his domestic stock. Rhinos "BELLOW-BELLOW" through the grass; a springbok "AH-AH-AHs" across a sun-baked terrain; and an elephant "BARAAA-BARAAAs" with a baby following behind. While the animal sounds are fun and lend themselves perfectly to a storytime rendition, the artwork is a particular treat. Isadora incorporates oil, ink, pencil, and printed paper to create collages that give a distinct sense of place, set against plentiful white space that allows the animals to pop on each double-page spread. An extensive concluding note provides interesting facts about all of the animals included, as well as a mention of the role game farms and parks play in protecting Africa's endangered species.

Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

The animals in Old Mikamba's African game farm give a sense of the wild nicely juxtaposed against the familiar refrain of "Old MacDonald." Isadora uses textured paper and newsprint along with oil, ink, and pencil to create animals that leap off the white pages. Kids will eagerly honk honk like the wildebeest and ooh ha-ha like the baboon as they sing along.

Kirkus Reviews

A familiar text is adapted to use in an unfamiliar environment with happy results. Old Mikamba's game farm includes a host of animals from the African plains, including baboons, elephants and cheetahs. After the traditional e-i-e-i-o, the baboon cavorts and says, "ooh-ha-ha." The elephant snorts, "baraaa-baraaa," and the cheetah makes a "grrrr-grrrr" sound. It's hardly a revolutionary formula, but the combination of the known and the unknown (Isadora introduces springboks and wildebeests), the amusing noises that each animal makes, and the exuberant collages incorporating woven fabrics, newsprint, and other materials all make for a winning strategy. Mikamba's child helpers on the game farm appear from time to time, but the animals take center stage. Tidbits of information about the animals are presented at the end, but their ranges are omitted. Although these animals can be found in different parts of Africa, the game-park setting allows all of them to be found together. From dawn to dusk, as represented in the handsomely painted endpapers, young children will want to visit this farm and "grunt-grunt" with the hippos and "chirp-chirp" with the ostriches. (Picture book. 3-6)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

As she did in There Was a Tree, Isadora sets this riff on a classic children-s song in Africa. Using -Old MacDonald- as a template, her rendition introduces 14 wild residents of a game farm and the sounds they make. With a few exceptions (dassie, springbok), the species will be familiar to most readers, and their phonetically punchy utterings, which include a

School Library Journal (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

PreS-Gr 2 "Old Mikamba had a farm, E-I-E-I-O." But there are no cows or ducks here, because Old Mikamba lives in Africa on a game farm. Here, readers are introduced to a baboon, cheetah, zebra, and elephant as well as a dassie and a springbok. Meant to be shared aloud, the text provides a variety of fun sounds to re-create with a partner. The "trill-trill" of the dassie and the "bleat-bleat" of the giraffe are sure to delight. Isadora's stunning collage brings the colors and textures of the African plain to life. Newsprint and printed paper provide rich textures and vivid color for both the animals and the fabric of Mikamba's clothing. The animals are parent/child pairs and this augments the shared feel of the song. Concluding pages provide background on the featured species, including habitat, communication systems, and endangered status. Lovely to look at as well as pure joy to read aloud, this title will demand an encore again and again. Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public Schools, OH