Content warning: This section of the guide discusses animal cruelty and death. 

“If books could have more, give more, be more, show more, they would still need readers, who bring to them sound and smell and light and all the rest that can’t be in books.”

In the book’s introductory chapter, Paulsen emphasizes the crucial role of the reader’s participation in the story. Underscoring the significance of the senses, the author suggests that readers should actively engage during the reading process and supply sensory elements by using their own imagination to enact the story in their minds. In this way, Paulsen encourages a reading experience whereby the reader is immersed in the story’s world, bringing their unique perspective.

“In the spring everything is soft. Wayne is my older brother by two years and so he thinks he knows more than I can ever know. He said Miss Halverson, who teaches eighth grade, told him spring was a time of awakening, but I think she’s wrong. And Wayne is wrong too.”

The motif of changing seasons and the theme of Living Attuned to the Natural World immediately emerges in the novel, highlighting Eldon’s perspective and emotional experience in the story that revolves around the family farm and its natural surroundings. In the above quotation, Eldon challenges the common notion of spring as an idealized symbol of renewal, emphasizing its less-seductive aspects. Simultaneously, the quotation establishes the different mindsets between Eldon and Wayne, as their conflicting views are a key part of their development.

“In northern Minnesota where we live, the deep cold of winter keeps things from smelling. When we clean the barn and throw the manure out back, it just freezes in a pile. When chickens die or sheep die or even if a cow dies it is left out back on the manure pile because like Uncle David says we’re all fertilizer in the end. Uncle David is old. So old we don’t even know for sure how old he is. He says when he dies, he wants to be thrown on the manure pile just like the dead animals, but he might be kidding.”

While introducing the setting and elaborating on spring smells, Eldon implies that his favorite season is winter, and the quotation directly connects to