It's Corn Picking Time! - by Jill Esbaum (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A rhyming tour of the process of harvesting corn"--

Book Synopsis

Hop in the tractor and ride along with a corn farmer in this rhyming read-aloud full of things that clack, whoosh, and roll!

It's corn-picking time, and the farmer has all her tools ready! The cornhead gobbles the stalks. The spreader spits out chaff. The grain wagon fills with corn!

This is the farmer, whose happy heart leaps
at the sight of those first golden, glorious heaps!

Corn-picking time is a favorite season on author Jill Esbaum's family farm, and the joy is sure to be shared by young lovers of tractors, trucks, and all manner of machines. Rhyming text pairs with Melissa Crowton's colorful illustrations for a high-energy read kids will ask for again and again. Check out the copious information found at the end of the book to discover more about life on a farm.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

Review Quotes

The tightness of Esbaum's onomatopoetic rhyme makes potentially unfamiliar terminology accessible, while Crowton's lovely and detailed illustrative art invites immersion--her grounded palette and innovative use of perspective and shadow permeate the story, evoking autumn's crisp temperatures and wood-smoky smells.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Crisp, textural images by Crowton (In Our Garden) bring a hand-painted, toylike feel to scenes that steadily depict hard work. There's something here for every reader: savory language in smartly scanning rhymes, detailed scenes of farm life, and a step-by-step tribute to the machines and processes that make the harvest possible.
--Publishers Weekly

The artwork has the sturdy squareness of Eric Carle's animals blended with the soft faces of Raymond Briggs's human characters.
--School Library Journal

Readers interested in farm life will be especially intrigued, of course, but the lyrical text makes this an inviting and enlightening read-aloud even for those who have not yet given much thought to where corn comes from.
--Booklist

Esbaum's well-crafted rhyme carries the corn from field to bin with every accompanying sight, sound, and smell. Crowton's warm, inviting illustrations in an autumnal palette help both to convey the information and to humanize the work. . . . An informative and playful ode to agriculture.
--The Horn Book

About the Author

Jill Esbaum is the author of numerous picture books, including If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party, Teeny Tiny Toady, Elwood Bigfoot: Wanted: Birdie Friends, Where'd My Jo Go?, and the Thunder and Cluck series. Her books have been nominated for many state awards, named to the IRA's Notable Children's Book list and International Youth Library's White Ravens List, and featured as a New York Times Editor's Choice (I Hatched!). Jill lives with her husband on their farm in Iowa, which has been in the family for over one hundred years.

Melissa Crowton has illustrated various books for toddlers and young children, including the picture books Mousie, I Will Read to You by Rachael Cole and Your First Day of Circus School by Tara Lazar. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, Creative Quarterly, and American Illustration. She is also a winner of the portfolio showcase at SCBWI's Winter NYC conference. Both of Melissa's grandfathers were farmers. She lives in Utah.