Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

Smothers's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Down in the Piney Woods) tale movingly attests to the rewards of hard work, honesty and of having dreams. Eight-year-old Emma and her family have "[come] up on the season," from Florida to Pennsylvania, to harvest crops as migrant workers. Emma loves books, but her family cannot afford "the store-bought kind," so she writes her own stories on brown paper connected with safety pins. When new ideas distract Emma from watching her younger siblings or picking apples, her mother warns: "Do you want me to hide that pencil?" Emma works to help add money to the family's "hard-times jar," hoping some day to buy a book. Debut illustrator Holyfield uses color to understated yet dramatic effect. Earthy browns and greens convey both the austerity of the family's one-room home, and the lush orchards where they work. He movingly portrays Emma's turning points: her mother holding her, gently telling Emma that she'll be going to school; Miss Miller, her teacher (whose "face reminded Emma of buttermilk"), introducing Emma to a classroom of white children ("She had never gone to school with people Miss Miller's color. Down south it was not allowed"); the teacher pulling aside long red drapes to reveal the school library. After Emma's mother discovers that she has sneaked home library books, Emma stands before the teacher, her posture (feet together, hands clasped, the incriminating books on the teacher's desk) capturing the trepidation of a child's confession to a respected adult. The book closes with an uplifting scene of Emma's mother giving her coins from the hard-times jar, recognizing Emma's need for her own book. Ages 4-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Aug)

ALA Booklist (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2003)

When Emma's migrant family moves from Florida to Pennsylvania for apple picking, she finds herself the only chocolate-brown child in her new third-grade classroom. Her initial discomfort is mitigated by the kindness of her teacher and the pleasure of reading books in the classroom library. After Emma owns up to breaking a rule, she receives an unexpected reward. Longer than most picture-book texts, the story provides a convincing portrayal of Emma's firm grounding within a loving family as well as her powerful affinity for books and stories. In his first picture book, Holyfield contributes an excellent series of graceful, full-page illustrations. With strong composition and sensitive body language, the paintings will draw viewers right into Emma's world. An inviting picture book with read-aloud potential.

Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1997)

This account of the travels of the seventeenth-century Japanese poet throughout his homeland emphasizes the simplicity of his lifestyle and his acute powers of observation that inspired his writing. The delicate illustrations, which resemble porcelain paintings, reflect the quiet tone of the text. Individual haiku, along with a Japanese character, appear on each spread. A map of the places Basho visited is appended.

Kirkus Reviews

Emma longs to own a book of her own, a real book, from the store. But money is "scarcer than hen's teeth" for Emma and her migrant worker family. Any extra money goes straight to the "hard-times jar," in case things get really bad. Emma makes her own books out of pieces of grocery bags and any other paper she can find. She contributes her own apple-picking wages to the jar in hope that some of the money might someday go towards a book. Soon Emma's mother insists that it's time for Emma to go to school. Third-grade teacher Miss Miller takes Emma under her wing and into her library, filled with real books. When Emma breaks the rules and takes a book home, she's forced to confess her transgression and her mother figures it might be time to make a withdrawal from the hard-times jar. Holyfield's warm illustrations reflect the innocence and simplicity of an earlier time. Pair this with Amada Irma Perez's My Very Own Room for another winner about the hunger for books. ( Picture book. 4-8)

School Library Journal (Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2003)

K-Gr 4 Based on the author's childhood, this inspirational story stands as a tribute to a strong family facing hard times. Emma and her family are migrant workers who follow the crops to make a living. Passionate about books, the girl longs for a store-bought volume, but knows that the few coins her mother saves in a jar are for no-money days. Arriving in Pennsylvania, Emma, her parents, and younger siblings pick apples together, but then Mama tells her that she is to attend school now that she is eight. Nervous because she is the only "chocolate-brown" child in the class, which could not have happened in her still-segregated Florida home, Emma soon discovers the riches of the school library. Desperate to read, she takes two volumes home for the weekend, against the rules. A kind teacher and a firm but understanding mother lead to a happy ending. Filled with descriptive language, the text flows smoothly and it clearly describes Emma's enthusiasm and fears. The richly textured browns, yellows, and greens of the paintings evoke a warm, orderly, and nonthreatening environment, reinforced by the mother's long arms reaching out and embracing her children. Susan Pine, New York Public Library