Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This evocative tale illuminates life on a northern farm in early spring, when "the snow's too wet for angel making" and the sap's on the rise. The girl narrator rides with her grandfather on a horse-drawn sleigh filled with pails to hang on the taps they will soon place in the sugar maples. As the two search for prospects, Grandpa explains how to pick them: one tree is too old to tap ("She's given and given till she's nearly given out") and another is too young ("She needs all the sugar she makes this year. She'll be ready when she fills up your arms"). Chall (Up North at the Cabin) maintains this folksy yet informative tone throughout her account, marrying concrete information, such as the 219-degree boiling point of the sap, with more atmospheric descriptions of the sugarhouse itself. Rendered in oil on board, Daly's (Mother, I Love You) nearly photographic paintings endow the picturesque interior and outdoor settings with a feeling of timelessness. The artist's devotion to detailÄthe gleam of light on freshly washed glass jars that will be filled with syrup and the distinct grain of the wood on the sugarhouse wallsÄcontributes to the tactile quality of the volume. Ages 6-up. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-It is the month of the Maple Sugar Moon in Minnesota-time to collect the sap from the old family sugar bush, and Grandpa invites his youngest granddaughter to help him with this annual event. It is she who tells this warm, engaging story of how hundreds of gallons of sap are turned into the precious maple syrup. Grandpa continues to use the old bucket-drop method of gathering sap, not the modern vacuum-tube system. The girl also tells about the important traditions that surround this event: everyone pitching in to help, enjoying Grandma's chicken and dumplings in the sugarhouse, and playing games until the syrup is ready. The descriptive language draws readers into the scene effectively. One can almost feel the "maple steam" that fills the sugarhouse and experience the "cotton-candy sweet" smell in the air. The somewhat idealized, detailed, bright, double-page oil paintings are equally effective. This book is great as a read-aloud for introducing children anywhere to maple sugaring, or for young readers to enjoy on their own. There is a lot of similarity between this book and Jessie Haas's Sugaring (Greenwillow, 1996) and Margaret Carney's At Grandpa's Sugar Bush (Kids Can, 1998). Chall expands on these earlier titles by including more details.-Virginia Golodetz, Children's Literature New England, Burlington, VT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
When the spring thaw begins, a girl and her grandfather go out to tap the maples, and soon a crowd of family and friends gathers to help with the work--and fun--of making syrup. Together they collect sap, haul firewood, clean and fill jars, and eat the new sugar poured out on snow. Chall's evocative descriptions and Daly's intimate oil paintings capture the warmth of a centuries-old tradition. From HORN BOOK Fall 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
