Feeding her horses one cold and wintry day, a girl thinks about all the hard work that went into the fresh-smelling bales she's using. The rhyming text and brilliant full-page paintings follow the girl and her mother through the summer as they cut, spread, dry and bale in the fields.

Mower blades slice through the grass./A new row falls with every pass./Next we spread the grass to dry./The tedder makes those grasses fly

This celebration of summer, farming, and family, illustrated by Pura Belpr honor artist Joe Cepeda, includes a glossary of haymaking words, and a recipe for making your own switchel-- a traditional farm drink, to cool you down in the summer heat.

A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year