It's Milking Time

by Phyllis Alsdurf, Steve Johnson (Illustrator), Lou Fancher (Illustrator)

Overview

As the sun sets over the fields, a little girl and her father begin the evening milking. The girl gathers the cows—a "Holstein parade"—and guides them to the barn. Father and daughter work side by side, piling up the grain for feeding, fanning out beds of straw, and hooking up the milkers. In the corner pen, the girl feeds the calves all by herself.
Soon they've filled milk can after milk can for the creamery truck that will arrive in the morning. The fresh dairy product isn't just for them—other families will buy their milk, butter, and cheese at stores and farmers markets near and far, connecting the little girl':s farm to the world beyond.
Phyllis Alsdurf's poetic story lovingly depicts the special bond between a child and her father and the relationship between a young farmer and her animals. With Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher's exquisite illustrations, It's Milking Time is a lyrical and visual treasure—perfect for reading aloud every morning, every night, to anyone who's ever asked: Where does milk come from?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681341392
Publisher:	Minnesota Historical Society Press
Publication date:	03/15/2019
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Phyllis Alsdurf taught English and journalism at Bethel Universityin St. Paul and is the author of Thanksgiving in the Woods.

Steve Johnson has collaborated with Lou Fancher on more than forty-five picture books; together the artists conceive, draw, design, and paint.

Lou Fancher has collaborated with Steve Johnson on more than forty-five picture books; together the artists conceive, draw, design, and paint.

Read an Excerpt

I slip under barbed wire and race down the lane. Fast. I’m late. Dad’s waiting on me to start milking. “Come, boss,” I holler. “Come, boss.” There by a stand of poplars, a huddle of black and white starts to move. Jay-Jay, as usual, leads the Holstein parade

Editorial Reviews

On a Midwestern dairy farm, a young girl helps her father with the daily milking chores, leading their Holsteins to the barn, feeding the calves, shoveling manure and washing up. The refrain, "Every morning, every night, / it's milking time," emphasizes the repetitive nature of dairy farm chores, done "Every day of the week, / every week of the month, / every month of the year." In short lines set on full-bleed, double-page paintings, the narrator describes the process. These cows are milked serially with a single milking machine. Pail by pail, the foamy milk is poured into cans, which are set into a cooler and later trucked away. Paddles help carry off manure, but the feeding, straw-spreading and washing up are done by hand. This farm is not yet entirely mechanized. The subdued colors of Fancher and Johnson's soft acrylics add to the sense of dreamy reminiscence. Though there are still small farms where milking happens like this, few children, today, have had a chance to drink their own fresh milk with morning pancakes, nor have their mothers skimmed off the cream for coffee. This fond memory from the author's own childhood should find a place on shelves right next to Carole Foskett Cordsen's The Milkman, illustrated by Douglas B. Jones (2005). It's a lovely, poetic picture. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews