Sugaring Time by Kathryn Lasky
**Overview of "Sugaring Time" by Kathryn Lasky**
"Sugaring Time" is a children's book by Kathryn Lasky that chronicles the traditional process of maple sap collection and syrup production. Set on a Vermont farm, the story follows the Lacey family as they engage in the seasonal ritual of harvesting maple sap, showcasing the cooperative efforts of multiple generations. The narrative details each step of the process, from tapping trees and collecting sap to boiling it down into syrup, emphasizing the joy and teamwork involved. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs by Christopher G. Knight, the book captures the beauty of nature and the excitement of the children as they partake in the harvest.
As sap flows from the trees, the family members not only work together but also celebrate the sweetness of spring, tasting the sap along the way. Lasky's writing combines educational elements with a warm portrayal of family life, making it an excellent resource for both home and classroom settings. "Sugaring Time" holds a significant place in children's literature for its early contribution to nonfiction, providing insights into ecology, family dynamics, and seasonal cycles. The book is often used to integrate lessons in science and mathematics, enhancing its appeal and educational value.
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Subject Terms
Sugaring Time by Kathryn Lasky
First published: 1983; illustrated
Subjects: Family, jobs and work, nature, and science
Type of work: Social science
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Form and Content
Divided into seven short chapters, Kathryn Lasky’s Sugaring Time chronologically traces the steps used in maple sap collection and processing. Christopher G. Knight, Lasky’s husband and a former photographer for National Geographic, clearly illustrates each stage of the maple syrup process with black-and-white photographs.
The setting of the book is Alice and Don Lacey’s sugar bush on their Vermont farm. The third-person narration describes Alice and Don’s children and parents as the three generations work together to harvest their sugar. Every detail of the harvest process is covered. They use their Belgian workhorses for “breaking out” trails in the snow after a cold winter. Once the trails are trod, they tap each tree with a special drill and bit. Spouts are inserted to collect the sweet sap that gathers just beneath the bark, and buckets are placed below the spouts to catch the sap. Lids, or “hats,” are placed on the buckets to keep out rain and snow. The sap begins to “rise,” seeping out of the tree in long drips, when the sun passes the vernal equinox.
When the Laceys go out to collect the sap, each child and adult enjoys his or her role. They delight in lifting the hats off the buckets to see how much sap there is to collect from each tree. According to Lasky, “Bark shimmers, branches quiver, a whole sky with clouds and sunbursts is reflected in the tree’s sweet water. It is a bucketful of life that Jonathan cannot resist. He dips a jar into the sap for the first real taste of spring, and then begins gathering.” The children enjoy tasting the sweet sugar from the bucket, as well as sneaking tastes of the sap as it runs downhill to their storage tank.
Boiling is the next and most important step after gathering. Forty gallons of sap makes only one gallon of syrup, so the family boils it in large quantities. Visitors come and go in the sugarhouse where the boiling takes place, taking advantage of the maple syrup cloud to clear away a winter’s cold. They also enjoy drinking sap tea, made by steeping tea bags in cups of hot sap. The family monitors the temperature of the sap as it continues to boil and skims the foam from the surface. After it is skimmed of foreign matter, the sap flows into the evaporator pans.
At 219 degrees Fahrenheit, the sap turns to syrup. When the syrup “aprons” or “sheets,” they open the spigots and save the syrup. The syrup is then bottled, graded, and sold. All members of the family enjoy their first taste of the syrup. The children delight in sugar-on-snow parties: Warm syrup is poured onto the snow, where it immediately hardens and then can be eaten like candy. Sugaring time passes, and the Lacey family enjoys the food and money gained from processing and selling their syrup. They look forward to sugaring time next year.
Critical Context
Kathryn Lasky is a versatile author who has written adult fiction, juvenile fiction, and nonfiction. Sugaring Time has a unique place in the canon of juvenile literature because it appeared during the early 1980’s, when children’s publishers were just beginning to expand the selection of nonfiction materials for young readers. Prior to this time, the majority of books published for children were fiction. The success of Sugaring Time showed the potential of information books in the juvenile marketplace.
Sugaring Time is a valuable book portraying the spirit of an American family as it harvests maple sap. This ecologically sound book demonstrates how family members can benefit financially from their environment without damaging it, an excellent example of a home business. The strength of the book is the simplicity of its text and the family unity that it displays.
The text is used widely in elementary classrooms; it was adapted as a filmstrip by Random House in 1986, for audio cassette in 1986, and for videocassette in 1988. The photographic essay format of Sugaring Time is useful in portraying social studies subjects, such as family, work ethics, working relationships, and industry. The book also explains many scientific concepts and can easily be integrated with units on weather, weather measurement, seasons, and photosynthesis. It could be integrated with mathematics units on temperature measurement, volume measurement, and the analysis of finances, such as balance sheets of profits and losses.
Miracles on Maple Hill (1956), a Newbery Honor Book by Virginia Sorensen, is a novel for middle-school readers that reinforces the content of Sugaring Time. Although the novel describes the emotional healing and reunion of a family after the father spends time in a prison camp during World War II, the backdrop to the story is their move to the country and the miracle of their maple sugar harvest. This novel would make a good companion book for Sugaring Time.