Sugarbush Spring (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jim Daly (Illustrator) "I wave to Grandpa, but he pulls me up next to him..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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 detailAthe gleam of light on freshly washed glass jars that will be filled with syrup and the distinct grain of the wood on the sugarhouse wallsAcontributes to the tactile quality of the volume. Ages 6-up. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 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
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (January 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688149073
• ISBN-13: 978-0688149079
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #762,751 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Illistrations are wonderful, November 13, 2001

By	BRENDA WESTCOM (Bakersfield, VT United States) - See all my reviews

Jim Daly is a wonderful illustrator. The pictures actually come alive on the page, you can visualize what the words are actually saying. Children, as well as adults, can learn about the trees; how big they have to be before you should tap them and why doesn't sap run all of the time, etc. The only thing that is not true is the temperature that the syrup is drawn off from the rig is not the same temperature you would need for sugar on snow. This picture gave my kids false ideas to try at our sugar house. Overall though this is a wonderful book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sugarbush Spring, February 3, 2000

By	Darcy Bellinger "dbell265" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

My family has made maple syrup for years. Reading this book I felt like I was back in the woods gathering sap and could almost smell the syrup as it boiled in the pan and taste its sweetness. The pictures are beautiful and the information right on the mark. As syrup making is a family event I will have to buy copies for all of my family.