An Amish Year

by Richard Ammon, Pamela Patrick (Illustrator)

From autumn harvesting and Christmas celebrations to spring cleaning and a special birthday party in the summer, a year in the life of a young Amish girl is captured in a colorfully illustrated, nonfiction picture book. Reprint.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Amish, Cultural, Childrens

36 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2007

About the author

Richard Ammon taught children's literature at Pennsylvania State University and lives in Middletown, Pennsylvania, not far from the Valley Forge National Historical Park. He is the author of Conestoga Wagons; An Amish Year; An Amish Wedding, and An Amish Christmas.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle and peaceful look at the highlights of a year in the life of one Amish girl. The fantastic illustrations combined with the personal feel of the story instill a greater connection to and understanding of the Amish people.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

We spend a year with young Anna, and learn about her life in an Amish community in Pennsylvania.

From Easter morning with its three-hour church service, through spring planting, and summer haying, canning, school, and wedding season in November - Ammon continually stresses the importance of family and community in Anna's life.

The real highlight of the book is the accompanying artwork by Pamela Patrick. She is equally adept at capturing the Lancaster county landscapes, AND the delightful facial expressions on the characters.

A beautiful and informative book.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent story about a young Amish girls life. My students were fascinated.
No objectionable content. Very educational!

[Kelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pennsylvania

[Danielle Rapoli]

Summary/Review: Anna takes us on a journey through the year, showing the readers what life is like for the Amish. We learn of the different chores she tends to during the different seasons and the fun and games she likes to enjoy. Students can see what a different lifestyle people live by but still see similarities among them. Uses in classroom: 1. Compare and contrast a student 19s typical daily schedule compared to Anna 19s. 2. Begin a cultural study. Paired Books: An Amish Christmas, An Amish Wedding Quote: 1CGrass clippings spray onto my toes as I push the mower in neat rows. When I finish, the lawn looks so smooth, like it 19s covered with a green blanket. 1D

[Katharine Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, about the amish religion was also about their community. While this book was not about a certain custom or holiday, but about a year in the life of an amish girl. Amish is a religion, but they live far away from other parts of the world, in the country. Their community and religion go hand in hand, and they abide by certain rules and live in a strict community setting. I chose this book because I love the TLC show breaking amish, and a lot of the same ideas from the show were in the book which was interesting to see. The amish are very private and so it is always interesting to learn about them. It is also good for children to see how other cultures work, and celebrate holidays(Christmas and weddings in this book). The illustrations are very realistic and use earth-tone colors to have the effect that they are earthly people. This would be a good book to compare and contrast to another culture of people. The amish children also work a lot, from making hay, to canning cherries, this young girl works hard for her family and her culture.This book takes kids through a year of the amish culture and religion to learn more about children from other cultures/religions.

[Bethany Sutherland]

An Amish Year is a book about what the Amish do during a year. This book is told in the viewpoint of a little girl and she describes what they do on different days throughout the year that are important, and what they do around the house and yard depending on what month it is. There is a lot of working with the garden: planting, maintaining, and picking. Whenever something happens, like a fire, everyone comes to help and works to fix it until it is done. School is only from first through eighth grade and they never have homework.

The book was alright. I thought it was more interesting to put the facts in with the girl narrating rather than just straight facts.

I would have this book in my library and in a section on different cultures so the students can pick it for a cultural project.

[Reily Riemersma]

This story is basically just about an Amish girl going through everyday life. the story takes place over the course of this girls year. Hardships of winter and the fun in the summer along with all the chores and activities that come with it.

I do not know personally about the Amish community and what they do but by the sounds of this book it sounds like a lot of work. this girl seems to have a lot of chores that she does although she seems to have fun as well.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 Stars Very Interesting book about the Amish. I An Amish Year takes you through a typical Amish Year from a child's perspective . What I like most about this book is that is point out what is the same and what is different about Amish and Mainstream American. Don't forget to read the authors note at the end.

Perfect for 4-6th Graders!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read to my kids. A young girl talks about what happens through the different seasons and events in an Amish community and home.

[Megan Ekins]

It was a good informative book about life as an Amish child. I learned quite a bit but it was not a very captivating read.

[Nakitah]

The reader watches as an Amish little girl named Anna lives a year of the predictable and enjoyable rhythms of Amish life. This can be used for rhymes and comparing and contrasting her life to ours.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave an interesting inside look into the Amish life. I really enjoyed how detailed the pictures were.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book about Amish life. I enjoyed it.