Winner of the Caldecott Medal
Thus begins a lyrical journey through the days and weeks, the months,
and the changing seasons in the life of one New Englander and his
family. The oxcart man packs his goods - the wool from his sheep, the
shawl his wife made, the mittens his daughter knitted, and the linen
they wove. He packs the birch brooms his son carved, and even a bag of
goose feathers from the barnyard geese.
He travels over hills, through valleys, by streams, past farms and
villages. At Portsmouth Market he sells his goods, one by one - even his
beloved ox. Then, with his pockets full of coins, he wanders through the
market, buying provisions for his family, and returns to his home. And
the cycle begins again.
"Like a pastoral symphony translated into picture book format, the
stunning combination of text and illustrations recreates the mood of
19-century rural New England."--The Horn Book