Otis and the Scarecrow

 

"It was summer when the scarecrow first came

to the farm where the friendly little tractor named

Otis lived, back when the corn was tall and ripe."

 

I'm not sure if I've mentioned my beloved farm family before on this blog.  Prairie Heritage Farm is owned by a family that I am lucky enough to call my friends, the Cowgills.  Their farm is in Power, Montana, roughly 99 miles from my home in Helena.  During the summer for the past two years, I've driven every other week up to the farm to pick up shares of the harvest for people who live here in Helena.  I do this about 18 times a summer, from June through the beginning of October.  Knowing the Cowgills, and participating in their farm, has enriched our lives in so many ways.  They are wonderful people with a real passion for what they do.  The food that we get from the farm (vegetables, grains, turkeys, eggs and pork, at various times of the year) has taught me so much about eating what is fresh, and experimenting with new foods and tastes.  And it is such an amazing gift - people who purchase shares here in Helena come to my house to pick them up.  I love talking with people about what is currently growing on the farm, what looks great that week, and advocating for my favorite family farm.  And even more importantly, the Cowgill children, Willa and Eli, have the most amazing collection of farm-themed children's books I've ever seen.

 

 

That's where Otis comes in.  The farmer puts out the scarecrow as the corn ripens so that the crows will be frightened away.  And of course, at first his ploy works.  All the crows disappear.  What Otis sees, though, isn't scary - it's a potential new friend.  Otis is already friends with all the farm animals, and there's no reason why the scarecrow shouldn't be his friend too.  But when Otis and the pack of animals approach the scarecrow, "He just stood there, that sour look on his face, staring at the cornfield.  The animals didn't know what to think."  As autumn approaches, the animals have all given up on the scarecrow as someone to engage with.  As pumpkins are harvested, "The farm looked different, but Otis loved the changing seasons and he worked and played as hard as ever, putt puff puttedy chuff." 

 

This year I not only got a share through the summer, but also got a turkey at Thanksgiving, and have gotten a fall/winter share the past few weeks.  In Montana, the growing seasons are short, and many crops can be adversely affected by the snow and cold that can arrive as early as September.  Crops are grown in greenhouses or under hoops to protect them and keep the soil warm as long as possible.  I am unexpectedly grateful for fresh baby lettuces, spinach and kale this fall.

 

As autumn continues, Otis and his friends are playing the quiet game.  "The quiet game is a contest in which everyone must stay quiet and still.  No sounds, no laughing, no snorting, quacking, giggling, or puffing."  They all play together - ducks, horse, puppy, calf, pig and Otis.  But Otis can't help thinking of the scarecrow, all alone in the field, sour look and all.  As a cold rainstorm starts to usher in winter, the animals all huddle together, staying warm in each other's company under the apple tree.  As they play the quiet game, Otis keeps thinking of someone who is left out, someone who would be the best at that game.

 

I have always loved the Otis books.  One of the things I love best about Otis the tractor is how hard he works during the day, but how easily he slips into play mode.  The quiet game is a fun game for all of them, in part because it triggers very predictable responses from each of them.  "This made the bull chuckle with a snort.  The bull's snort would amuse the ducks...soon everyone would be laughing, snorting, quacking and giggling. "  All of the animals and Otis enjoy each other and have camaraderie no matter what they are doing.

 

Another thing that I loved about Otis that is consistent across all of his books is his kindness and friendship.  In the first Otis book, he and the calf bond over their play.  In this book, there can be no real connection with the scarecrow - no matter how hard Otis tries, he cannot get the scarecrow to want to be his friend.  But ultimately that doesn't matter to Otis.  Otis gives the gift of friendship to the scarecrow anyways, keeping him company on his hill.  It is a sweet, thoughtful gesture that is completely Otis.

 

There is one other thing that I wanted to share about these books.  I love the illustrations and how well the book design works with Long's illustrative technique.  The colors are soft and a little retro, just like Otis is.  The book as a whole looks refined and elegant, which could make the story not as relatable to young children.  But the sophisticated design and gorgeous colors are offset by the characters Long creates.  The animals, the farmer and Otis all have the most expressive faces.  They show disgust, delight, and even that sour look on the scarecrow.  And the sight of the animals all playing the quiet game is perfect - full of laughter and action.

 

As autumn has already transitioned into winter here, it feels like a little miracle when my favorite farmer dropped off my share a couple of days ago.  He was already in town, so I didn't make the trek out to Power this time.  He brought four full bags of potatoes, onions, garlic, spaghetti squash, eggs, and greens.  All fresh, all recently harvested, with some of the dirt from the fields still lingering.  My love for Prairie Heritage Farm and the Cowgills is like Otis' gift of friendship - it's really a gift to myself.

 

Gloria at the farm

 

 

Otis.  Loren Long.  Philomel Books, 2009.

 

Otis and the Scarecrow.  Loren Long.  Philomel Books, 2014.

 

 

 

 

Otis from my personal collection, Otis and the Scarecrow  sent by publisher for review

 

We Gather Together

Most years here in Montana, autumn is short.  Usually by now, we've had snow multiple times.  The fall leaves have all blown away in storms where the wind whips through the streets.  This year, though, we've had a surprising season - yes, we've already had snow, but only twice. Our fall leaves are still in piles on the ground, and I was wearing flip flops until last week!  Now the Montana weather is very changeable, and all our Halloween costumes still have warm clothes underneath.  But we're enjoying the actual fall right now!

 

And that's why we've been loving  We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season this year too.  I requested the new paperback version of this 2006 title through my new relationship with Penguin Books for Young Readers, and it came at the perfect time.  The fall equinox was on September 23rd this year, and, a month later, we are waiting impatiently for daylight savings time to fall back.  It's dark until after 7am each morning, and only light in the evenings until about 7pm.  Frances and Gloria have a hard time getting up in the mornings (although it is easier to get them to go to sleep!).

 

So it's helpful to have a book like this to help us really investigate fall.  It's often blink-and-you-miss-it here, and the nearest corn maze is more than 90 minutes away.  We move from being sad about summer ending, with our farm and garden crops being put to bed, to being immersed in winter.  In this title, Pfeffer does an amazing job of helping kindergarten through 3rd graders learn all about the harvest season.

 

She begins by describing how animals use fall to prepare for the winter, including foxes burying rodent leftovers to eat later (gross!) and beavers storing twigs and sticks underwater for when their ponds are iced over.  Pfeffer explains  how humans don't need to store so much food anymore, because our grocery stores transport perishable items from the other side of the world when they are out of season here.  The text then discusses the fall equinox and defines it for readers (that the nights equal the days and then become longer than the days as we become closer to winter).  This also signals the time to harvest all over the world.

 

As the days begin to cool off, and the summer sun no longer shines, crops can't make the food they need.  Those crops must also be harvested before the first true freeze of the winter.  The text then considers peoples throughout history - cavemen, Ancient Egyptians, the Wampanoags - and how they harvested.  Pfeffer tells readers "Over the centuries, people celebrated plentiful harvests and passed down traditions, at different times in different places, and in different ways. All over the world, harvest celebrations from the past are still being carried on today."  The text goes on to talk about harvesting and harvest celebrations around the world, including in India, Japan, Jewish culture and others.

 

One of the things that I like the most about We Gather Together is how well Pfeffer handles the diversity of information that's contained within this book.  There's science, social studies and environmentalism all contained within its pages.  These could be overwhelming, particularly to a young reader.  But the text is general and fairly brief.  It gives interesting information and helps children imagine themselves in the many cultures and time periods.  While each page has five to seven lines of text, the vocabulary is fairly simple for children to digest and comprehend.

 

Another thing that makes the book easy to use is the large scale illustrations.  The colors are vibrant, yet autumnal in tone throughout most of the book.  They are mostly double page spreads, and the text blocks vary throughout the book.  It really allows readers to balance the longer text with looking at the detailed illustrations.  It gives them a sense of a variety of cultural styles and details.  Bleck's illustrations help give life to the traditions and harvests of many cultures.

 

Finally, I love the back matter in this title.  There is a huge amount of back matter for a picture book nonfiction title.  There are facts about the equinox, science experiments, a recipe, a list of harvest festivals, a bibliography and websites.  It is all well-done, and the science experiments include additional questions for reflection.  I think this makes this title incredibly useful in classrooms and at home.  It has already spurred some great conversations here.  It's helping us enjoy this season before it too quickly disappears.

 

We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season.  Wendy Pfeffer; illustrated by Linda Bleck.  Puffin Books, 2006.

 

sent by the publisher.