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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | PURMELL | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | NATURE PURMELL | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Pancake and waffle-loveing readers will eat up this process picture book with a behind-the-scenes look at making a much-loved treat.Sap's rising! It's officially maple syrup season at the Brockwell family farm. There will be a lot to do, from hammering spouts into the maple trees to gathering, pouring, and boiling the sap. But the whole family will help together, and when all of the work is done, there will be a sweet and tasty treat.Maple syrup is a favorite breakfast treat for many children. Ann Purmell satisfies young readers' curiosities by showing the in-depth process of making syrup.Jill Weber's cheerful artwork portrays a family working together to achieve a goal, alongside cozy and humorous forest animals who occasionally "help" with the process.Teachers are always looking for process books that tell how familiar products are made.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Making maple syrup is a Brockwell family affair, involving grandparents, children, and grandchildren. Even the youngest contribute to the annual gathering at the grandparents' sugar bush. Beginning with tapping the trees, collecting the sap, and transporting it to the sugarhouse through to boiling and straining, grading and bottling, the whole process is fascinating. The final activity is making "sugar on snow," which young readers in snowy states will surely want to try, if they haven't already. This gentle story has a straightforward text and folksy, colorful gouache illustrations. While the art adds to the tone and details of the narrative, the stylized faces have a wooden, almost puppetlike appearance. This style does not in any way detract from the overall value of the book, which also subtly introduces woodland flora and fauna. A glossary and two pages of maple syrup lore are appended. This book would be a great addition to units on seasons, farms, or plants and trees. Combine it with Kathryn Lasky's Sugaring Time (S & S, 1983) and Jesse Haas's Sugaring (Greenwillow, 1996) for a seasonal treat.-Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
The Brockwell family--grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles--come together to tap their maple trees. The project of turning clear sap into maple syrup is hard work that demands the attention of all family members, and Weber's folk art-inspired illustrations demonstrate how special this annual get-together is. Readers interested in the process will lap up the "maple syrup lore" back matter. Glos. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Like Purmell and Weber's Christmas Tree Farm (2006), this blends light fiction with nuts-and-bolts about an outdoorsy family business. Two children, Hannah and Hayden, appear perched on a horse-drawn sled headed for Grandpa's sugar bush, where they join three generations of family members (and a bevy of onlooking forest creatures) in collecting, boiling, and bottling the season's first batch of maple syrup. Apart from the characters' L. L. Bean-like fashions and the trendy names of the featured kids, the family's traditional syruping methods evoke a bygone era, as do Weber's folk-art-style paintings, which are reminiscent of Will Moses' quaint country scenes. The reliance on end matter to explain terminology, such as sheeting and hydrometer, seems odd, since readers unfamiliar with syruping will want this information up front. Still, the book's interesting backstory about a product most children find more than a little appetizing will sweeten early-spring curricula. Given widespread buy locally campaigns, the small-farm emphasis will have appeal outside the classroom, too.--Mattson, Jennifer Copyright 2008 Booklist