Product Description

In this warm story of old ways and new, youth and aged, the distinguished poet and critic Donald Hall draws a brilliant picture of life on a small New England farm, half a century ago. Barry Moser's luminous pictures evoke the spirit of the time with startling clarity. Full-color illustrations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2017970 in Books
• Published on: 1994-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
While his parents are involved with "the war effort," nine-year-old Peter spends the summer of 1942 at his grandparents' farm in New Hampshire, where he rakes hay, tends chickens and feeds sugar lumps to a horse named Lady Ghost. Although both text and illustrations brim with specific period details--Peter hears Gabriel Heatter on the radio, rides a DC-3 coast-to-coast in 16 hours, eats two chocolate-covered cherries bought for one penny--the book contains almost no dialogue and little action. Unlike Jane Yolen and Leslie Baker's Honkers or George Shannon and Thomas B. Allen's Climbing Kansas Mountains , two recent picture books in which story and historic or regional settings seem effortlessly intertwined, Hall's ( The Ox-Cart Man ) tale of Peter's separation from his parents seems almost incidental to the collection of nostalgic details. The author's meandering reminiscences of time past are outshined by the deft watercolors. Although Moser's compositions are not more animated than the narrative, they have a depth of characterization that lends the volume emotional heft. Ages 6-10.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Hall delivers precisely what his title promises-a straightforward family reminiscence that is comfortable and richly detailed. Peter, nine, is sent to spend the summer on his grandparents' New Hampshire farm while his father is on a destroyer in the South Pacific and his mother is working on a secret government project. Whatever insecurities the boy might have are soon dismissed as he finds comfort in the routines of the farm and the loving presence of his grandparents. He lends a hand as they salt the sheep, milk the cows, and hay, and listens intently to news on the radio. The summer passes peacefully without crisis-no turning point, no high drama-other than that which is implied by the wartime backdrop. The voice of the story is warm, and, as in real-life family storytelling, occasionally a bit long-winded, while at the same time leaving listeners wanting to know more. Moser's full-page watercolor illustrations are surprisingly bright and photoreal, expertly complementing the story. He focuses at times on a simple straw hat that Peter wears just as his father did as a boy, linking him visually to the past. The painter's skill in rendering animals, in capturing people's thoughtful expressions, and his careful inclusion of period details will encourage readers to linger. In the summer of 1942, a window to the past opens and Peter steps through it. Readers can do the same.
Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WI
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 2-5. Like Stevenson's Don't You Know

There's a War On? (1992), this picture book for older readers is a gentle reminiscence of World War II at home, as seen through the eyes of a boy whose father is fighting far away. Nine-year-old Peter travels by plane and steam locomotive from his home in San Francisco to spend the summer on his grandparents' farm in New Hampshire. And like the boy in Stevenson's book, Peter misses his father and worries about him, "but also" Peter has a lot of fun. Poet Hall's clear, lovely narrative draws you into the rural world that Peter discovers: the physical magic (his grandfather "whispered into the ear of a white horse named Lady Ghost"), the enduring connections, the stories his father knew growing up on that farm. Moser's full-page watercolors capture the summer idyll: the sunlit landscapes with the farm animals, the warm interiors as the family listens to the war news on the big radio near the wood stove. There's more period detail than story here, but children will enjoy sharing this book across generations. Hazel Rochman