Review by Booklist Review
This pleasant, highly romanticized vision of farm life follows the members of a farm family from dawn to dusk as they work together to plant a field. The focus is on a big red tractor as it is driven back and forth throughout the day. What makes this particularly appealing is that the young girl in the family gets to ride the tractor with her father all day long. Several peripheral characters--the mother, the baby, the family dog, a flock of crows, and various farm animals--create added interest with their various activities. Muted watercolor illustrations on double-page spreads feature cozy scenes in which everyone (and everything) appears happy to be working. The simple rhyming text, with four lines per page and two to three words per line, is easy enough for beginning readers and can be dramatized for a lively read-aloud. Life on the farm never looked so good. --Randall Enos Copyright 2007 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Spring has arrived, and it's time to till the field. "Tractor naps./Time to plow./Cover off./Wake up now!" The short and snappy rhyming text takes readers through a day as a father and his daughter board the tractor ("Leather seat./Noisy gears./Up we go!/Daddy steers") and get to work. With just four quick lines per page, the small field is done in no time. Double-page watercolor illustrations reflect the lilting rhythm of the narrative. Daddy and his girl occupy the forefront, but Mama and baby are seen in the background as they do their own chores, hanging the wash, feeding the pigs, taking lunch to the field. The mother's dress and kerchief are sweetly reminiscent of an earlier time. The antics of a trio of crows and a frisky dog add humor, and children will find additional pictorial stories on every page. With so much to capture their attention-both auditory and visual-youngsters will delight in this fresh seasonal story. A great choice for reading aloud or sharing one-on-one.-Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH (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
A father and his little girl spend a sunny day on the tractor, readying their farm's fields for planting as the family dog and neighborhood crows look on. Some awkward rhymes make an initial read-aloud difficult and the ending is abrupt, but the soft, detailed illustrations provide plenty of interest to young tractor fans. (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
More than the sum of its parts, this gentle rhyme hums the cadence of a rural family's day on the farm. Father and daughter ride the aged red tractor through the fields: "Leather seat. / Noisy gears. / Up we go! / Daddy steers." As the tractor tows the plow, it also excavates talismans of life such as a cracked teacup. The title suggests a very specific book geared toward the vehicle-obsessed reader, but adding dimension to the story is the woven tapestry of farm activity as Mother and the new baby feed the pigs and spread a picnic lunch for the family. Or as the dog stands on his hind legs reaching up toward the muzzle of the mule and yanks the tail of a bewildered cow. Cawing, strutting, flapping crows and ravens are constant companions throughout. With the plowing done, the family spreads seeds over the earth and plants a little garden patch especially for the daughter. This beautiful and stirring celebration has jubilantly detailed illustrations depicting a bucolic farm life that is lingering--and perhaps fading--from our landscape. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
