This award-winning book is about a traditional 18th century New England farming family that uses an ox-cart to take the leftover goods they've produced from the past year to market. The man of the household makes this annual journey sells all the family's extra goods to purchase items like an iron kettle and a knife for his son. He returns home and this cycle continues of producing and selling throughout the seasons and years. This book was also featured on an episode of Reading Rainbow. The illustrations are very realistic and could very well tell the story on their own. They also set the mood for this period in history and beautifully depict the changing of seasons. As a reader, I enjoyed learning more about this time in American history and discovering a life lesson about living simply. The author's use of repetitive language sets the tone for this continuous market cycle and creatively tell this family's story. As a teacher, this book would be great to use as part of a history unit on 18th century America or an economics lesson about being both a producer and consumer. Students could create a classroom economy and trade goods and services among each other or visit a local farmer's market.
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