Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Maple Syrup Season
Illustrator: Jill Weber
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 7
Holiday House, 2007 ISBN: 978-0823418916
There is still snow on the ground but "sap is running in the old sugar maple trees," and so Hannah, Hayden and their Uncle John head out to Grandpa's sugar bush to help make maple syrup. At the sugar bush Grandpa drills a hole in one of the trees and hammers in the sap spout. Before long sap is dripping into a bucket. The whole family then gets to work and soon the woods are full of the sounds of sap dripping into buckets.
Three days later the buckets are full of sap and it is time to take the sap to the sugarhouse where it will be cooked until it turns into maple syrup.
As they read this delightful seasonal story children will discover that the syrup that they put on their pancakes and waffles is made with great care and a lot of hard work. The rising of the sap indicates that spring is in the offing, and it is a busy but joyous time for the people who make the syrup.
Ann Purmell tells her story with effective simplicity and she provides her readers with plenty of interesting "Maple Syrup Lore" at the back of the book
