Rooted in the Vermont countryside, Caldecott-artist Azarian’s (Snowflake Bentley, 1998, etc.) signature woodcuts brighten Kinsey-Warnock’s (Lumber Camp Library, p. 572, etc.) pedestrian account of growing up on a Vermont farm. After hearing their mother’s stories of Scottish ancestors, the children wonder why their forebears moved to the land (Vermont) that demanded much hard work. Through the seasons, from dawn till dusk, reminisces of difficult work, as well as the storytelling, eating sweet maple candy, and fishing are enumerated. The idyllic childhood routine: long-hot days of summer, sugaring time in the spring, mud-filled afternoons, Sunday drives; building fences, picking stones from the fields, mowing grass, baling hay, making apple cider in the autumn; and a myriad of other activities helps to build a family narrative. The sturdy woodcuts complement the text, despite the fact that a few, particularly the night scenes, seem too dark and somewhat uninspired. Selected photographs from the author’s and illustrator’s family albums, appended at the end, reinforce the notion that this is a very personal story of the simple pleasures of a rural life gone by. While not Azarian’s best work the illustrations are nonetheless a significant factor in making this unexciting but comfortable tale one that readers will enjoy reading. (Picture book. 6-9)
