102. Almost Time

Almost Time. Gary D. Schmidt and Elizabeth Stickney. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. 2020. [January] 32 pages [Source: Library]

First sentence: When Ethan had to eat his pancakes with applesauce instead of maple syrup one Sunday morning, he knew it was almost sugaring time.

Premise/plot: Almost Time is a picture book about a young boy, Ethan, patiently and not-so-patiently waiting for maple syrup. Every day--or nearly so--he asks the same question, is it time? is it time? But sometimes--often times--the best things in life are things you wait for. Such is the case with maple syrup! This book does show--here and there--the process of how maple syrup is made.

My thoughts: I liked this one. Ethan seems like a good, sweet kid--a kid with a SWEET TOOTH. (And who can blame him?) Though not all readers will have experience waiting for maple syrup--of the homemade sort--plenty will relate to waiting for a loose tooth to fall out and start to grow back in. (Ethan also is waiting for this!) And of course the waiting for winter to turn to spring! (It lasts until it doesn't.)

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Young Readers