It’s Corn Picking Time!
by Jill Esbaum; illus. by Melissa Crowton
Primary    Porter/Holiday    40 pp.
7/25    9780823455614    $18.99

“This is the farmer, her cap, and her gloves. This is the farm, land that she loves.” Before the sun rises, a farmer gets the combine from the shed, gathers tools for the day, and begins the task at hand: picking corn (which an endnote clarifies is not the sweet corn we eat). Patterned text introduces readers to the parts of the combine and other elements of the corn-picking process. First the “autumn-dry stalks” shuttle through the cornhead and into the grain tank, while the spreader scatters chaff being “spit out the back.” The corn then moves from the combine to a grain wagon, transporting the kernels to the dryer, which sends out a “steamy, roast-corn-scented cloud.” Esbaum’s well-crafted rhyme carries the corn from field to bin with every accompanying sight, sound, and smell. Crowton’s warm, inviting illustrations in an autumnal palette help both to convey the information and to humanize the work. Back matter with interspersed spot art provides additional information about the process of harvesting this late-season crop and the many ways it is used; further reading and related websites are also appended. An informative and playful ode to agriculture.

From the September/October 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.