K-Gr 3-A series of first-person vignettes revolving around the seasons, introducing two brothers on a Vermont farm in the early part of this century. It's the commonplace events that young Berty holds in his heart-his mother pouring ``hot new syrup, clear as a cat's eye, over plates of fresh snow,'' or sitting with his older brother watching trains go past. These activities are all shadowed by the fact that Luke wants to explore the world. The ending shows him leaving on a train, headed for France and the war. These nostalgic recollections are rendered in prose filled with pictorial images, but they are filtered by an adult eye. The repeated references to time as a concrete object- first a wheel, then an arrow-is also an adult concept. Jeffers's illustrations (watercolor, ink, and dyes) are appropriately atmospheric. They are filled with the flora and fauna of Vermont, solid farm people, and dramatic trains slicing through the countryside. A lovely book for adults to read to children before sharing memories of their own childhood.-Karen K. Radtke, Milwaukee Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The story of a boy who relishes his family's quiet life on a Vermont farm, but whose older brother yearns to join the Navy, is conveyed through "well-chosen prose [and Jeffers's illustrations,] precisely rendered, clean-cut yet softened by subtle use of color," said PW. Ages 4-8. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Ages 5-8. Wells and Jeffers vividly capture a sense of a time gone by in this warmhearted story of two close, loving brothers, growing up and growing apart in a world that's changing. For young Berty, "time went by like a slow song with so many verses you couldn't count them." No matter what the season, Berty found cause for wonder, time to rejoice, and much to share with his older brother, Luke, who is Berty's teacher, hero, and friend. But Luke finds the small Vermont village where the boys live confining, and his decision to leave makes Berty suddenly realize that the world he's convinced is so perfect and safe is not all there is. Wells gracefully telescopes the story's passage of time while Jeffers' striking watercolors supply the fascinating trappings of early twentieth-century village life. There's a fitting wistfulness about the artwork, which is especially apparent in the several pictures of the brothers companionably sharing quiet times. But Jeffers also infuses her work with great depth and warmth, accomplished, in part, through the intricate pen-and-ink crosshatching that decorates each beautifully composed scene. (Reviewed Sept. 1, 1993)0803713983Stephanie Zvirin

Wells and Jeffers have succeeded admirably in presenting a vignette of life in a small Vermont farming community during the first decades of this century, evoking a sense of lost innocence. The cycle of life in the well-ordered and self-sufficient world provides fulfillment for Berty, though not for his older brother, who joins the navy just as World War I is ending. The book begs to be lovingly shared and savored. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

With a well-honed narrative and expansive, beautifully detailed illustrations in Jeffers's signature crosshatch and watercolor, an evocation of Vermont country life pre-WW I. Berty watches the men cut ice to ship to Boston; shares syrup on snow; helps Grandmother start seeds indoors in early spring (transplanted carrots and peas in a book listing two farm museums as resources stretches credibility, but never mind); and listens to older brother Luke's dreams of the larger world as trains steam by. It all ends with Luke's departure, in 1917, for the Navy, and Berty's new realization of inexorable change through the passage of time--and with a wish, on a star, for his brother. There's some poetic license here--hunting dandelions in the woods, red autumn foliage in early September--but, overall, the details, from milk can to parlor stove, are authentic and meticulously rendered, while the era's comfortable, provincial security is nicely conveyed. (Picture book. 5-8)