Over the River and Through the Woods Illus by Emma Randall

ANNNNND the final contender! 

This book wins the cutest endpapers competition! 

In general, this book is very cute. 

Pretty though too!

One of those books where small children are doing things their parents should never let them do by themselves. 

And here is grandmother's farm. This one is definitely for a younger crowd. There aren't too many verses, so it gets down quite quickly and the illustrations with the bright colors and rounded shapes are ideal for young children. 

Paul Revere's Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow & Illus by Ted Rand

Listen my children, and you shall hear

of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.

On the eighteenth of April in 'seventy five

Hardly a man is still alive who remembers

that famous day and year.

I loved this poem when I was a kid. As a history nerd, I loved the story of Paul Revere, but I also liked the rhythm and cadence of the words that seemed to mimic the galloping hoof beats of the horse.  

And then, I tend to be a fan of Ted Rand's work in general. 

A phantom ship, with each mast and spar

Across the moon like a prison bar.

And a huge black hull, that was magnified

By its own reflection in the tide.

Spying on the powerful British, outwitting the stronger nation, outfighting the best trained fighters in the world--the Revolutionary era is just chockful of romantic, beating the underdog stories. And Paul Revere's story is the linchpin to the successful begin of the war when we beat back the British in Lexington and Concord, inspiring pride and passion on the side of the colonists. 

Those redcoats

Climbing the belfry of the North Chapel

Paul Revere waiting for the light

One if by land, two if by sea

The fate of a nation was riding that night

And one was safe and asleep in his bed

Who at that bridge would be the first to fall

Who that day would be lying dead

Pierced by a British musket-ball.

That first shot "heard round the world" always interested me. No one could pinpoint who shot, which side was the instigator. They just know a shot was fired and a bloody six year long struggle was begun. 

As an adult, there is less romance and more agony in these stories. You understand the cost a little more--the children without fathers, the boys who would never grow up, the lives irretrievably altered by this political disagreement with the King of England. The abstract ideas of men's rights and independence having very real life consequences for a farmer's wife in the small town of Concord. 

So through the night rode Paul Revere;

And so through the night went his cry of alarm.

To every Middlesex village and farm,--

A cry of defiance and not of fear.

Cowboy Andy by Edna Walker Chandler & Illus by E. Raymond Kintsler

This is one of those easy reader books that I remember from my childhood--the easy reader book heyday of the late 1980's. 

Pretty sure this was the first book my sister ever read. It was also the first book my son ever read. 

It has staying power. At least in my family. 

The problems in easy reader books are straightforward. 

Andy is a city boy, but wants to be a cowboy. 

His dad writes a handy cowboy friend to take on Andy and make him into a cowboy. 

We have a ready villain in Cook. He is determined the entire thing will be a disaster. 

A little conflict is so important in moving easy reader plots along.  

Andy gets to Sam's Ranch. There is no fooling around with ranch names here. It belongs to Sam, so it is Sam's ranch. No reason to complicate things, folks. 

Cook's scowl. 

Man to man chats under the full moon. 

Andy setting off to be a cowboy. 

Now was the time to show Cook that he could be a cowboy.

You show 'em, Andy!

There are several necessary disasters and setbacks in his quest where Cook says things like "See? I told you so. Andy will never be a cowboy." And finally, Andy wins the calf riding event at the rodeo. And Cook concedes that Andy is a really honest to goodness cowboy. 

See? Life might seem complex, but it isn't. An easy reader can sort it in 60 short, picture filled pages. 

Sugar Maples by Nancy Dingman Walsh & Illus by Erik Blegvad

Sugar Maples

The snow in the sugar bush is up to my knees

But Peter says I can help tap the trees

 So we harness up the horses and hitch up the sled

And shout Giddy-up! to big Tom and Ned. 

When we reach the icy brook Peter lets the horses drink

 But then we hurry over so the sled won't sink. 

We're deep in the sugar bush and Peter hollers Whoa!

 And the horses stand still in the quiet, in the snow 

Their nostrils blow steam and their coats foam white

And the birds stop to listen in the shafts of morning light.

Peter drills the holes and I stick in the spouts 

And we hush and watch the first sweet sap drip out. 

I kneel beneath the spout and the sweet drips on my tongue 

And then we tramp from tree to tree to get the buckets hung. 

At noon we build a fire and eat a big lunch

 And listen to the jaybirds scold and hear the horses munch 

It's a long day's work, the big horses sweat 

My mittens freeze stiff and my feet slosh wet 

I'd really like to quit but I can't till we're through--

Peter wants to finish, and so do I too. 

The sun is sliding down the sky--Let's head home! Peter shouts

 The horses speed, the sled is light without the pails and spouts... 

The kitchen's warm and through the door there drifts amidst the clutter

The lovely smell of homemade bread and newly churned butter. 

Winter Pony by Krista Ruepp & Illus by Ulrike Heyne

 

This book is completely gorgeous. The story itself isn't the most stirring or striking. But it is set in Iceland and has a girl/horse friendship. How could it be terrible?

Horses, thundering over Iceland's tundra...

Anna has raised Prince from a colt, so they are extremely close.

 

But this spring, Anna's father tells her Prince is grown up now and needs to go up into the mountains with the other horses where they spend the summers.

 

Anna is sure Prince needs her. But her father says Prince must go.

 

GORGEOUS.

 

Things get tense with the Stallion.

 

Anna worries about Prince out there by himself. Her grandmother comforts her. I know I keep blathering about the pictures, but aren't they beautiful?

 

Things do not go smoothly for Prince. It is all the Stallion's fault. But he does survive.

And when Anna goes back to fetch him as winter returns, Prince is there ready to love her some more.

Grasses by Aileen Fisher & Cyndy Szekeres

Isn't this picture so marvelously 1970's hippie? I adore it.