IT'S CORN PICKING TIME! A Must-Harvest New Picture Book

 In case you are unfamiliar, I want to call out author JILL ESBAUM as a master of rhymed text in picture books. Click on her name to see full shelves of titles she's created. Two of my favorite, most heart-tugging titles are WHERE'D MY JO GO? and TEENY TINY TOADY. I always think of Jill's books when I hear familiar advice to writers of picture books, that they should avoid rhyme. The second half of that advice is not always linked, but it matters the most...

UNLESS YOU CAN WRITE IN RHYME PERFECTLY! 

and, sometimes added...

UNLESS IT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL YOUR STORY.

That's a high bar indeed, and authors like JILL ESBAUM raise the bar even higher. Not all of her books are in rhyme, but those that are bring enhanced rhythm and pacing with lively and natural language to share the stories even BETTER than prose might. As someone who sometimes writes in rhyme, I consider Esbaum's books to be the gold standard for deciding if my rhyming efforts are improving the story or detracting from it. Her rhymed text, when she chooses to use it, make the results feel like those stories were BORN rhyming. 

 

NEAL PORTER BOOKS, 2025

IT'S CORN PICKING TIME, illustrated by Melissa Crowton, is an ideal example of excellence in rhymed text, with the added challenge that this is an excellent informational picture book!

The first lines made me imagine this would be a variant on "This is the house that Jack built." There are several superb picture books that use that template, and I had no doubt that Esbaum would do it well. But I was surprised and pleased to see that she used only that short intro phrase to explore (along with vibrant and only slightly abstracted images throughout) the people, places, tools, processes, and majesty of corn harvest on a modern farm. 

"This is a farmer, her hat and her gloves,

This is the farm, a land that she loves."

are the opening lines that set not only the launching scene for corn-harvest day but also the warmth and emotional depth of life on a farm. An effort to construct a cumulative text would not ahve allowed each of the elements of this remarkable process to shine on its own.

From the screeching barn door to the keys tucked on a high shelf, readers are invited into THIS SPECIFIC farm, to join THIS farmer in THIS harvest. It becomes a very personal experience, and the stages involved rise above what I know to be a dusty, hot, exhausting task into satisfying, gratifying, and important work. It is also clear that farming, though occasionally lonely, is not a solo operation. Various folks of diverse ages, roles, and conditions play important parts. Even random bugs have their very authentic place on the shed shelves. 

I was particularly impressed with the natural flow of language, with accurate terminology feeling natural and accessible within nearly musical text (chaff, auger, combine). The morning-to-night framework for the harvest story incorporates soaring scavenging birds, collaborative coworkers, prowling farm cats, a faithful watchdog, and young ones. 

This is a story in which the corn is the star, but the adult farmer (female, POC) orchestrates the performance. Another frequently stated "rule" of writing picture books is that kids need to play the lead role, to solve the problem, etc. As with the prior-stated advice, this is often true. Unless it can be done as masterfully as this. The adult farmer is in every way integrated with her own family, other workers, and even into a society at large. 

And the land. Always the land.

Back matter is handled equally well. Final spreads describe "LIFE ON A CORN FARM" through simple Q and As, along with enhancing spot illustrations. Jill and her husband live on a farm in Iowa, a home that has been in their family for over a hundred years. That suggests to me that the facts are reliable, but also that the heart of it is also authentic. As someone with farm family background, there's no denying that farming of any kind is demanding, wearing, and even sometimes heartbreaking. And yet farmers stay, and farm, and root themselves into the processes that feed us all. I admire this latest Esbaum effort  for its skillful informational content, for the natural cycle of a day on the farm, and, of course, for the perfectly written rhyme. Illustrator Crowton shares my the praise for the many ways in which the color, design, and details portrayed expanded the warmth and clarity of CORN PICKING TIME!