Once upon a Farm Author:Bob Artley From School Library Journal — Artley's boyhood memories of farm life in Iowa are charmingly detailed in readable prose and fine watercolor paintings and sketches. Beginning in the spring, a season of "mud-frost-hope," the conversational essays recount the required tasks, some pleasant, many arduous, that were necessary to begin the cycle of life ... more »on the farm. Many of the illustrations include hand-printed captions that will have special appeal to young readers: "Before spring work began in the fields Dad gave the old Fordson its annual overhaul-and we kids got the old ball bearings which made wonderful steel marbles." The author also includes many details of everyday life, with a decidedly nostalgic eye: kerosene lamps, one-room schools, plowing roads after a snowstorm, early family automobiles, school programs, crank telephones, the supper table, and play activities. A bird's-eye view of barns, buildings, roads, equipment, gardens, trees, and animals is just one of many intriguing maps and cutaway drawings that readers will pore over. This is a beautiful book that progresses through the seasons, bringing to life an almost forgotten time. For reading or browsing, it's a delight.--Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.« less