A superficial, documentary-like look at a real problem: the small farm in transition. With rural population decreasing, Mike and Sarah's school closes, forcing them to travel farther each day; worse, corn and milk prices are low, so Dad takes a factory job while the kids, Mom, and Grandpa do his chores all winter. Then Dad is laid off; but the family fortunes look more promising with the introduction of some new cash crops: pumpkins, flowers, and perhaps Christmas trees. Locker's formal oil paintings have been much praised. This series is as full of nostalgia and fine cloud effects as ever, but the carefully composed full-page illustrations are static, the figures wooden, and the scenes so distanced from reality that teddy bears float on the surface of a down comforter, autumn leaves fail to fall, and cows graze without visible effect on their pasture. And although the text is an adequate summary of what may happen to small farms, it fails to suggest either a reason for the farmers' troubles or a real solution for the farming community. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Ages 7-9. Beautiful paintings complete this story about a family who nearly lose their farm until they get the idea to start a business selling pumpkins and flowers.

Gr 1-4 Locker teams his considerable artistic talents with a story that touches both the sentiments and the social con science. A young boy, Mike, tells of his family's struggle to keep its farm going through another difficult year. The lo cal school has closed, milk and crop prices are down, and the boy's father is forced to take a factory job in town to make it through the winter. Mike's sis ter suggests expanding their mother's pumpkin and flower garden into full farm production. The financially suc cessful experiment allows the farm to continue for at least one more year. Mike's unadorned prose tells a very personal story, at the same time intro ducing children to the tenuous state of the family farm. While the text may be understated, Locker's oil landscapes are a true celebration of the strength, glory, and tradition of rural America. His now-familiar striking use of color and light is especially effective in scenes of the changing seasons spring's and summer's vibrant greens and yellows, autumn's rich browns and oranges and winter's icy grays and blues. Unfortunately, most real life farm stories won't have this hopeful an ending, but Locker's story and art are a well deserved tribute to this threatened life. Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, Wis. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.