The Hard-Times Jar

by Ethel Footman Smothers, John Holyfield (Illustrator)

Overview

A look at the life of migrant workers through a child's eyes

Emma Turner loves books and dreams of one day having the store-bought kind, but the Turners are migrant workers and money is tight. That means "no extras," so Emma must be content to make her own stories and books. Emma has a plan, though – she's going to save all the money she earns picking apples and put it in Mama's hard-times jar. Then there will surely be enough for extras. But when Mama tells Emma that this year she has to go to school instead of to work, it spoils everything. Now she will never own a store-bought book! But school turns out to have a wonderful surprise in store for Emma.

Based on Ethel Footman Smothers's childhood, the story is brought to life with lush acrylic paintings, giving us a touching portrait of a book-hungry child.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374328528
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	08/12/2003
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	380,197
Product dimensions:	11.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	AD600L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ethel Footman Smothers lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

John Holyfield lives in Fairfax Station, Virginia.

Editorial Reviews

Smothers's tale movingly attests to the rewards of hard work, honesty and of having dreams.” —Starred, Publishers Weekly

“Based on the author's childhood, this inspirational story stands as a tribute to a strong family facing hard times...Filled with descriptive language, the text flows smoothly and clearly describes Emma's enthusiasm and fears.” —New York Public Library

From the Publisher

Smothers's (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. (Aug) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

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 Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

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)

Kirkus Reviews