Ox-Cart Man

Written by Donald Hall · Illustrated by Barbara Cooney

A New Englander journeys to market, selling goods and returning home, repeating life's seasonal cycle.

3.0/7 Bookroo expert·4.1/5 Goodreads · 15,551 ratings

40 pages· 656 words· Est. 6 min read-aloud· AD1130L

$8.99Save 5%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

In 19th-century New England, a farmer embarks on a seasonal journey, packing his oxcart with family-made goods. As he travels to Portsmouth Market, he sells each item, even his cherished ox, to provide for his family. With pockets full of coins, he buys essentials and returns home, ready to begin the cycle anew. What drives this timeless rhythm, and what does it reveal about life and change?

From the publisher

Winner of the Caldecott Medal

Thus begins a lyrical journey through the days and weeks, the months, and the changing seasons in the life of one New Englander and his family. The oxcart man packs his goods - the wool from his sheep, the shawl his wife made, the mittens his daughter knitted, and the linen they wove. He packs the birch brooms his son carved, and even a bag of goose feathers from the barnyard geese.

He travels over hills, through valleys, by streams, past farms and villages. At Portsmouth Market he sells his goods, one by one - even his beloved ox. Then, with his pockets full of coins, he wanders through the market, buying provisions for his family, and returns to his home. And the cycle begins again.

“Like a pastoral symphony translated into picture book format, the stunning combination of text and illustrations recreates the mood of 19-century rural New England.”—The Horn Book