Harvest Home is a story of a family's day of harvesting wheat. This shows all the work they do daily and how fun it can be even if its a chore. After a hard day at work they celebrate by eating and singing. This book can be relatable to many people because after a hard day of work they can relax and have fun. ( )

This poetic story of harvest customs follows Bess and her family through a day of wheat harvest. It tells of team work, helping others, and humbleness. Beginning in the morning, Yolen sets the scene in the rolling hills and hot summer sun. As she sing-songs her way through the day, she portrays a relate-able and interesting story.

Personal reaction:
I really enjoyed the repetition of the words, “bringing the harvest home,” throughout the book. Yolen did a great job of creating a character you can relate to, though very few of us know the hard work of harvesting a field of wheat by hand. The story lacked a certain excitement. Yolen primarily walked the reader through the day of harvest with very little complex actions and conflict.

Classroom extensions:
1. Many students may be unfamiliar with what wheat looks like in its original form. Provide students with a sensory exploration by gathering wheat stalks, flour, and wheat products like bread and tortillas. Have the students journal their observations, including taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound.
2. Throughout the story, Yolen uses a consistent rhyme scheme. Copy a page from the book and give each student a copy. As you read the page, ask them to highlight the rhyming words at the end of each sentence with a certain color. For instance, all sentences ending in the rhyme of A will be blue, all sentences ending in the rhyme of B will be green. Then, encourage the students to write a short poem following a simple rhyme scheme of ABAB ( )

A story of life on the prairie, and bringing in the late summer harvest. Written in verse with matching illustrations. ( )