Till Year's Good End

by W. Nikola-Lisa, Christopher Manson (Illustrator)

Discover what life was like for peasants living in Medieval Europe through this calendar of their daily labors and chores.

Based on a Medieval Book of Hours, Till Year’s Good End describes the monthly activities of rural peasants in England during the Middle Ages.

Rhyming couplets banner the top of each page while a paragraph for each month elaborates on the daily chores, showing the round of seasons in the farm year.

“Each turn of the page reveals a new month and its chores, from plowing, planting and pruning to mending, spinning, and milling.” — Publishers Weekly

Genres: History, Medieval, Picture Books, Childrens, School, Nonfiction

36 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

W. Nikola-Lisa's interest in writing books for young readers began as an elementary school teacher. He is the author of numerous books, including the award-winning Bein' With You This Way (Lee & Low), Shake Dem Halloween Bones (Houghton Mifflin) and the How We Are Smart (Lee & Low), recipient of the prestigious Christopher Award. As an accomplished storyteller and musician, Mr. Nikola-Lisa enjoys sharing his writing experiences with elementary and middle school students nationwide.

Reviews

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine book about the work done by peasants in the medieval year. The linework was a little heavy for my taste, obscuring some detail, and there could have been more detail in the text too, but this is a good starting point for learning what life was like in medieval times. For example, feasts are mentioned in January and December, but not fasting for Lent in the spring or feasting in March/April for Easter. Western medieval life was so mapped onto the liturgical year that explaining those rhythms explains much about medieval daily life, and a regular inclusion of that would help the medieval pattern of life make more sense.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This listing says it is a board book, but the one I borrowed from the library was a regular picture book with a hardback cover. A gentle overview of peasant labor in the Middle Ages. Rich watercolors outlined in black ink give the book a medieval feel. Grades 2-5

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, I was using this for research purposes.
It's good, just not life-changing.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good if you want to realize how easy we have it today. It is pretty boring for kids because really it is just a big long medieval to-do list.

[Beth Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great look at how the peasants lived in medieval times. Work, work, work of all types. Clearly written. The pictures were also enjoyable.

[Samantha Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this very useful for research.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great explanations of feudal obligations of peasants throughout the year.