I've been waiting to write about this book since the day I started this blog. Now that fall is in full swing and it is October, I just can't wait any more! The Ox Cart Man has long been one of my absolute favorite picture books. There are so many things that I love about this story that I hardly know where to begin. From its very first line, the Ox Cart Man takes us into the life of a family in early nineteenth century New England: "In October he backed his ox into his cart and he and his family filled it up with everything they made or grew all year long that was left over. He packed a bag of wool he sheared from the sheep in April. He packed a shawl his wife wove on a loom from yarn spun at the spinning wheel from sheep sheared in April. He packed five pairs of mittens his daughter knit from yarn spun at the spinning wheel from sheep sheared in April." And so it goes. We follow the ox cart man as packs up the things his family has worked so hard to make and grow throughout the year and brings to Portsmouth Market to sell: birch brooms, woven linen, candles, potatoes, apples, goose feathers, maple sugar. He proceeds to sell everything he has brought with him, including the wooden box he carried the maple sugar in, the barrel he carried the apples in, the bag he carried the potatoes in, his ox cart... even his beloved ox. (I'll admit that part makes me a tear up sometimes. I know. I'm a sap.) When he has nothing left but a pocketful of coins, the ox cart man wanders through the market himself, buying new things for his family to get them through the year ahead. An embroidery needle for his daughter that had come all the way from England on a boat. A Barlow knife for his son for carving birch brooms. An iron kettle to hang over the stove. Two pounds of wintergreen peppermint candies. And when he finally returns home to family, we see the whole cycle begin once again. "His daughter took her needle and began stitching, and his son took his Barlow knife and began whittling, and they cooked dinner in their new kettle... and that night the ox-cart man sat in front of his fire stitching new harness for the young ox in the barn..."
Hall's prose is beautifully written, and I can't help but feel like I am a part of the story while I am reading it. Each time, I am overwhelmed by a sense of what life was like in those days gone by, and am in awe of its simplicity and difficulty all at the same time. The gorgeous illustrations, done by the amazingly talented Barbara Cooney, earned this book the Caldecott Medal in 1980, and they are the perfect accompaniment to Hall's story. Simple, soothing, telling, and beautiful. At first, I was worried that my son might find this book boring, but he never has. I think he, too, is fascinated by how our ancestors lived and the ways they depended on nature and the land for their survival. Seasons change, years pass, and life goes on, but this book will always be one of my favorites.
