The Milkman's Boy [Hardcover]

Donald Hall (Author), Greg Shed (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Tells the story of the Graves Family Dairy, whose three horses pulled the wagons delivering milk to families in the years before trucks and shopping centers replaced them.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4?Shed's full-page paintings, soft-edged and golden-hued, are memory images, perfect for Hall's story of a family dairy in the early years of this century. Paul, "the milkman's boy," joins his family in bottling and delivering the raw milk by horse and wagon. Changes come to the Graves Family Dairy when their small town becomes a suburb of the nearby city. Paul's father resists the new process of pasteurization because it spoils the taste of the milk, but when little Elzira comes down with undulant fever, the decision is made to modernize. Hall writes about fictional people, but draws upon his own family history and his knowledge of the dairy business to give children a glimpse of the past. His narrative is filled with the warmth of a family engaged in a beloved business, depicting an era of small town friendliness, and a time when the doctor comes to the house and prescribes willow tea. The Milkman's Boy will help children to understand time and change and to see, in Shed's lovely illustrations, a world now gone.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Based on Hall's own family's dairy business at the turn of the century, this nostalgic New England narrative joins his The Ox-Cart Man (1979) in harkening back to a slower time and celebrating farm and family. Before pasteurization, when milk was delivered directly to doorsteps via horse and wagon, young Paul observes his father and brothers at work--the work of holding on to traditional values in the face of modernization, as well as the physical work of carrying milk and capping bottles. When the youngest, Elzira, contracts undulant fever (but not from their raw milk), Paul's father decides to get a pasteurizing machine, balancing continuity and change. Shed's sleepy, light-dappled paintings freeze in time a series of moments in one family's history. Adults with fond memories of glass-bottled milk delivery may appreciate this more than children of the computer age; just as young readers cannot imagine a time before television, they may fail to comprehend milk before cartons and grocery stores, a fact that could appropriately land this old-fashioned intergenerational story in the hands of social-studies teachers. (Picture book. 7-9) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers; First Edition first Printing edition (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802784631
• ISBN-13: 978-0802784636
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,856,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story and illustrations, December 16, 2004

By 

Jason G. Gauthier (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Milkman's Boy (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful story about a family dairy farm at the turn of the 20th century and how they struggled to adapt to changing technology and the growth of the population around them. The illustrations are also beautiful and give the story a warm, historic feel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Short History of Milk, February 28, 2008

By 

Lynn Ellingwood "The ESOL Teacher" (Webster, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Milkman's Boy (Hardcover)

This is a great story of a family who runs a milk business in the days when milk was delivered by horse and wagon and pasteurization was just getting underway. It tells the joy of the work the family did and how they realized how important pasteurization was to people. Good simple history told by one family's experience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story line., June 30, 2008

By 

CalMama "Mama to 4" (usa) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Milkman's Boy (Hardcover)

Good story line from when milk was fresh from a neighborhood dairy. Nice living book, plus we received an excellent price on it. I'm glad we have this in our children's library of books. Wonderful pictures.