Caldecott Honor Book
This children’s classic by an award-winning West Virginian touchingly describes growing up in the hills of West Virginia with Grandmother and Grandfather. Pumping water at the well, an outdoor baptism, show-and-tell with a black snake and shelling beans are lovingly remembered, and beautifully illustrated. Children love this simple story of a simple life.
Reviews
“Rylant delights in the simple joys of living with her grandparents in the Appalachian Mountains: fresh cornbread, the swimming hole, bathing in the tin tub, snakes, and the community church. Surrounding all of these memories is the loving relationship with her grandparents. Warmly rendered illustrations complement the lyrical text.”
– School Library Journal
“An evocative remembrance of the simple pleasures in country living; splashing in the swimming hole, taking baths in the kitchen, sharing family times, each is eloquently portrayed here in both the misty-hued scenes and in the poetic text.”
– Association for Childhood Education International