Mowing [Hardcover]

Jessie Haas (Author), Joseph A. Smith (Illustrator, Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1994 | Age Level: 4 and up

"When Gramp takes the horses out to mow hay, little Nora comes along....A lovely way to present the wildlife hidden in a summer meadow and the care that can be taken to preserve it....Art and text work beautifully together to bring out the story's qiet drama."--Kirkus Reviews.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Bumping down the road on the seat of an old, sickle-bar mower, Nora and Gramp set out to mow the hayfield just as the sun's rays strike the side of the barn. Once in the field, Nora gets down to scout out little animals that might be injured by the horses or the blades. A fawn and a killdeer nest are spared because of her keen eyes, and by Gramp's decision to leave the clumps of grass they live in uncut: "'Some people would call that a pretty bad job of mowing,' he says, 'But we know better, don't we?'" And so will children, who will sense the respect for life in Haas's quiet story. Smith's illustrations-watercolor paints, colored pencils, and watercolor pencils-meld well with the text. Of particular note is his skill in capturing the changing light as the day passes over the lush countryside, and the varying perspectives from which each scene is viewed. There are other well-illustrated books about special relationships in a farm setting- e.g., Linda Morris's Morning Milking (Picture Book Studio, 1991) and David McPhail's Farm Morning (Harcourt, 1985)-but there is still plenty of room for Haas's charming title.
Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WI
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4-6. When Nora and Gramp leave the field after a day of horse-drawn mowing, there are two islands of uncut grass. Readers learn how Nora helps direct Gramp's mowing to avoid a fawn and a killdeer nest and how the woodchuck protects itself by burrowing. The watercolor and colored pencil illustrations often place the animal in the foreground: at the fawn's eye level, readers see the humans and the horses as peripheral guests in the world. The pictures and text suggest stewardship is more important than precision mowing. Mary Harris Veeder

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1st edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688116809
• ISBN-13: 978-0688116804
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,462,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Wonderful reading, August 22, 2001

By 

brenda sigurdson "[e-mail]" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mowing (Hardcover)

My daughter is 6 years old and absolutely loved this book. Her grandparents live on a farm and she has heard stories of work horses and she somehow stumbled upon this book on her own at the library. When it was time to return this book, she searched for something similar and found Hurry! also by Jessie Haas and she was so excited. I also loved these books and immediately signed on to amazon.com to see if we could purchase them.

5.0 out of 5 stars simply wonderful, September 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mowing (Hardcover)

This is a beautiful picture book, like all of the books in this series about Nora and her Grandparents farm. It shows how draft horses work on the farm and how caring a good farmer is to all the other aninals who live on the farm, be they residents or part of the natural enviroment. A wonderful story, simple and beautiful. The illustrations are true to life and make you feel like your at the farm with Nora.