Fall Harvest
Imagine a cherry farm bursting with ripe fruit ready to harvest.
Cherry and her brother Berry are young farmers who find sections of their crop missing. In this who-dun-it adventure, Cherry Sugar Sprinkles learns a valuable lesson of the importance of sharing.
The Inspiration
When my children were younger, I used to take them to a church playgroup. The kids went to their own playroom with their friends and a “teacher” while the adults participated in Bible Study.
I didn’t realize I was missing having my spiritual cup filled until I attended these well-run discussions.
One of the lessons we learned about gleaning.
According to Wikipedia, “gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. It is a practice described in the Hebrew Bible that became a legally enforced entitlement of the poor in a number of Christian kingdoms.” source
Isn’t it amazing that it was a law to provide for the poor? I was so fascinated by this concept of leaving harvest for the less fortunate, that it inspired this story.
Book Features
I am so blessed to have a talented mother who was able to paint the illustrations for the short story. I’m so proud of the beautiful portrayals she made.
In addition to the short story, I felt it was important to include activities to encourage readers to explore the story further. I’ll thank my love for reading, writing, and my English degree for this one!
Cherry’s book includes a Choose Your Adventure activity and an Empathy Game to help your child develop a love for reading.
I also felt it was important to include the knit and crochet patterns to make Cherry Sugar Sprinkles’ hat! It is my hope that the child knows someone who has a crafty skill and can make one for them (if not, I do have finished ones in the shop!).
Each pattern has instructions for four sizes ranging from toddler to large adult. I’ve also included both written and charted colour-work instructions.
The beauty of making the hat to go along with the story is that it adds another dimension of how your child can use their imagination to act out the story or create new adventures for Cherry to embark on! They could wear the hat to become the character or use the hat as a puppet. The possibilities are truly endless.
Who Is The Story Written For?
Although the book is written with the intention of a 5-year-old to a 10-year-old child being able to read the story on their own, any age can appreciate the pictures and be read to. As such, the book dimensions (8.5 inches by 6 inches) were considered so they fit comfortably in your child’s hands.
I hope you and your family will consider adding the Cherry and the Monster book to your library. And remember, if you don’t knit or crochet, I do have some finished hats available in the shop also.
Even tiny children looking at a picture book are using their imaginations, gleaning clues from the images to understand what is happening, and perhaps using the throwaway details which the illustrator includes to add their own elements to the story.
Philip Reeve
This post was featured on Guelph Local on December 10, 2019.
