Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. Annie's father wants to move west, where people aren't close as kernels on the cob. Friends bring good-bye gifts, and Annie's family sets off for weeks in their covered wagon. Life on the dusty prairie is difficult and lonely, and Annie's mother becomes more withdrawn, until finally, she rarely leaves her bed. Then Annie remembers her mother's words that friends and flowers . . . gladden your heart. She convinces her father to help her plow a garden, and the ready brown plot cheers her mother, who brings out the good-bye gifts: flower seeds from home. Similar to Eve Bunting's Dandelions (1995), this book tells a quiet, moving story about the isolation and weariness of pioneer life, the pain of leaving loved ones, and the hope growing things can bring. Andersen's gouache-and-oil paintings beautifully capture the breathtaking expanse of the prairie in arcs of color and curved horizons that reinforce the message: the same sweet earth holds the old home as well as the new. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-In this poignant account of a pioneer family's experiences, Annie relates how she and her family leave their home and journey west. While her father sees the promise of new land just waiting to be claimed, her mother feels the sorrow of saying good-bye to loved ones. On the morning of their departure, each of Momma's friends gives her a small white packet. Life is hard on the prairie, and when the woman gives birth to a baby girl in the spring, she is too sad to name her. With the help of her father and brother, Annie clears a patch of earth for a kitchen garden. Realizing Annie's intentions, her mother asks her to bring the packets, which contain seeds for daisies, larkspur, poppies, and hollyhocks. Momma rolls up her sleeves to begin planting, finally ready to make this place her home. Using clear language with a homespun flair, Hopkinson captures a child's perception of events. The illustrations, breathtakingly executed in gouache and oil paints, effectively depict the windswept prairie. Young readers will appreciate the work and adversities the pioneers faced and what they had to do to prepare the land for the nonnative trees, flowers, and plants that have survived long after. An author's note provides more information about women settlers and pioneer plants. A moving and enriching look at a slice of American history.-Marian Creamer, Children's Literature Alive, Portland, OR (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
After giving birth, a newly transplanted pioneer mother suffers from depression in her isolated prairie cabin. Her older daughter senses what she needs and works to clear a place to plant the flower seeds they brought with them. Evocative art illustrates this somber tale, the loose paint strokes and scratchy lines conveying the family members' various emotions. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Hopkinson and Andersen team up again in this understated, quiet story of pioneers, the prairie, and the healing power of gardening. Pa feels that "folks around here are getting close as kernels on a cob" and Momma has no choice but to go west with him. Annie and her little brother Jim watch Momma tearfully say goodbye to her sister and friends and set out to their plot of land. Though Pa builds a rough but cozy cabin, it is not enough to turn away the sounds of coyotes and the cold of the winter nights. When Momma delivers her second daughter, she is unable to raise herself from her bed. It is Anna, armed with an ax and a fierce desire to build a kitchen garden, who finally gives Momma a reason to shake out of her sadness. Andersen's gouache and oil illustrations tell the story in rose sunsets, lavender mountains, and a prairie that nearly engulfs the little wagon as it makes its way west. Three hopeful bluebirds dot the spring sky as the little family joins together to face their new life. Lovely. (author's note) (Fiction. 5-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
