A Prairie Boy’s Winter (Ages 5-12)
By William Kurelek
Houghton Mifflin Co.
This very endearing picture book is dedicated to “everyone who ever spent a winter on the prairies—and for all the others who wonder what it was like.” The author wanted to portray his own life experiences of growing up on a farm in the 1930s, and that is exactly what he does; with his gentle illustrations and descriptive writing style, he instantly draws the reader into life on a prairie. Each page is like a miniature chapter, describing a specific chore or event that takes place in a family’s life: calling the pigs to feed, hauling hay, skiing behind the hayrack, making an ice rink and many others! The nostalgia for the wholesome activities and hard work ethic that take place on a family farm will warm the hearts of both children and parents. Not everything always goes smoothly on a farm, however, and this is portrayed in pages about watering cows when things are frozen and hauling firewood for both food and warmth. But the family members make the best of their surroundings and work hard together as they await the coming of spring.
This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Winter 2022
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